Digital Commons Network^™

Equality, Sovereignty, And The Family In Morales-Santana, Kristin Collins

Faculty Scholarship

In Sessions v. Morales-Santana, ³ the Supreme Court encountered a body of citizenship law that has long relied on family membership in the construction of the nation’s borders and the composition of the polity.⁴ The particular statute at issue in the case regulates the transmission of citizenship from American parents to their foreign-born children at birth, a form of citizenship known today as derivative citizenship.⁵ When those children are born outside marriage, the derivative citizenship statute makes it more difficult for American fathers, as compared with American mothers, to transmit citizenship to their foreign-born children.⁶ Over …

Decomposing The “Tacit Knowledge Problem:” Codification Of Knowledge And Access In Crispr Gene-Editing, Neil Thompson, Samantha Zyontz

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Cruise Report. Cuba's Twilight Zone Reefs: Remotely Operated Vehicle Surveys Of Deep/Mesophotic Coral Reefs And Associated Fish Communities Of Cuba., John K. Reed, Stephanie Farrington, Patricia Gonzalez-Diaz, Linnet Busutil Lopez, Beatriz Martínez-Daranas, Dorka Rojas Cobián, Joshua Voss, Dennis M. Hanisak, Maria Cristina Ronda Diaz, Mingshun Jiang, Michael Studivan, Andrew David, Felicia Drummond, Juliett Gonzalez Mendez, Alain Rodriguez Garcia, Patricia M. González-Sanchez, Jorge Viamontes Fernández, Daniel Estrada Pérez, Lance Horn, Jason White, Shirley A. Pomponi

Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this research cruise was to discover and characterize, for the first time, the extent of mesophotic reefs along the entire coastline of Cuba, and to compare the health and connectivity (physical, genetic and ecological) among both mesophotic and previously well-characterized shallow reef systems in Cuba, the southeastern United States, and Gulf of Mexico (in particular, the FGBNMS and FKNMS). Moreover, the project will directly address a recommendation in the Report from MarCuba (2015) in which the U.S. and Cuban participants in this project stated their intention to initiate an international collaboration.

A Cross-Sectional Study Of The Temporal Evolution Of Electricity Consumption Of Six Commercial Buildings, Ethan M. Pickering, Mohammad A. Hossain, Jack P. Mousseau, Rachel A. Swanson, Roger H. French, Alexis R. Abramson

Faculty Scholarship

Current approaches to building efficiency diagnoses include conventional energy audit techniques that can be expensive and time consuming. In contrast, virtual energy audits of readily available 15-minute-interval building electricity consumption are being explored to provide quick, inexpensive, and useful insights into building operation characteristics. A cross sectional analysis of six buildings in two different climate zones provides methods for data cleaning, population-based building comparisons, and relationships (correlations) of weather and electricity consumption. Data cleaning methods have been developed to categorize and appropriately filter or correct anomalous data including outliers, missing data, and erroneous values (resulting in < 0.5% anomalies). The utility of a cross-sectional analysis of a sample set of building’s electricity consumption is found through comparisons of baseload, daily consumption variance, and energy use intensity. Correlations of weather and electricity consumption 15-minute interval datasets show important relationships for the heating and cooling seasons using computed correlations of a Time-Specific-Averaged-Ordered Variable (exterior temperature) and corresponding averaged variables (electricity consumption)(TSAOV method). The TSAOV method is unique as it introduces time of day as a third variable while also minimizing randomness in both correlated variables through averaging. This study found that many of the pair-wise linear correlation analyses lacked strong relationships, prompting the development of the new TSAOV method to uncover the causal relationship between electricity and weather. We conclude that a combination of varied HVAC system operations, building thermal mass, plug load use, and building set point temperatures are likely responsible for the poor correlations in the prior studies, while the correlation of time-specific-averaged-ordered temperature and corresponding averaged variables method developed herein adequately accounts for these issues and enables discovery of strong linear pair-wise correlation R values. TSAOV correlations lay the foundation for a new approach to building studies, that mitigates plug load interferences and identifies more accurate insights into weather-energy relationship for all building types. Over all six buildings analyzed the TSAOV method reported very significant average correlations per building of 0.94 to 0.82 in magnitude. Our rigorous statistics-based methods applied to 15-minute-interval electricity data further enables virtual energy audits of buildings to quickly and inexpensively inform energy savings measures.

Project Ngage: Results Of A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Dyadic Network Support Intervention To Retain Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men In Hiv Care, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

HIV-positive young black MSM (YBMSM) experience poor outcomes along the HIV care continuum, yet few interventions have been developed expressly for YBMSM retention in care. Project nGage was a randomized controlled trial conducted across five Chicago clinics with 98 HIV-positive YBMSM aged 16–29 between 2012 and 2015. The intervention used a social network elicitation approach with index YBMSM (n = 45) to identify and recruit a support confidant (SC) to the study. Each index-SC dyad met with a social worker to improve HIV-care knowledge, activate dyadic social support, and develop a retention in care plan. Each index and SC also …

The New York Times Interviews Kastenberg On The History Of The Military Charge: Misbehavior Before The Enemy, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Faculty Scholarship

The New York Times interviews Joshua Kastenberg on the Military Charge, Misbehavior Before the Enemy, regarding a Navy Seal. Kastenberg provides history and context for previous uses of this charge.

The Law And The Human, Laura Spitz

Faculty Scholarship

The law plays a role in the social construction of what it means to be human. The stakes are high, especially for those, like the Indigenous Peoples of North America, whose bodies and cultures have been both humanized and dehumanized through law.

Listen on Soundcloud.

Full hyperlink: https://soundcloud.com/cornellcas/the-law-and-the-human

The Technology Requirements Of The First Electronic Monitoring Agreement In U.S. For Zappers, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Robert Chicoine

Faculty Scholarship

On August 30, 2017, a plea was entered in the case of case of State of Washington v. Wong, Wash. Super. Ct., No. 16-1-00179-0, and as a result the first electronic monitoring agreement of sales transactions in the US (the “Monitoring Agreement”) was legislatively imposed on a retail business.

The Monitoring Agreement was negotiated between the State of Washington Department of Revenue (the “WA DOR”) and the taxpayer over a period of several months and is comprised of two parts: the basic agreement, which covered the obligations and rights of the parties, and an appendix, which defines the scope of …

End (Finally) The Boli And Coli Tax Subsidy, David I. Walker

Faculty Scholarship

Under current law, bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) and other corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) provide a tax-advantaged means of accumulating assets to fund employee and executive benefit programs, provide insurance against the loss of a pivotal employee (“key person” insurance), or fund buy-sell agreements that are sometimes used to resolve succession issues at closely held companies. In a typical arrangement, an employer pays the premiums and receives the proceeds from the policy. BOLI and COLI products combine insurance with investment and generate tax benefits in two ways. First, taxation of gains accruing between investment and payout is deferred. Second, if payouts …

Three Strikes For Copyright, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

How should copyright law change to take account of the internet? Should copyright expand to plug the internet’s leakiness and protect content that the internet would otherwise make more freely available? Or, should copyright relax its strict liability regime given diverse and productive reuses in the internet age and the benefits networked diffusion provides users and second-generation creators? Answering these questions depends on what we think copyright is for and how it is used and confronted by creators and audiences. In a new article studying these questions in the very focused setting of Wikipedia articles about baseball and baseball players …

Proteomics And Network Analyses Reveal Inhibition Of Akt-Mtor Signaling In Cd4+ T Cells By Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Mannose-Capped Lipoarabinomannan, Ahmad F. Karim, Obondo J. Sande, Sara E. Tomechko, Xuedong Ding, Ming Li, Sean Maxwell, Clifford V. Harding, Roxana E. Rojas, Mark R. Chance, W. Henry Boom

Faculty Scholarship

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) cell wall glycolipid mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) inhibits CD4+ T-cell activation by inhibiting proximal T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling when activated by anti-CD3. To understand the impact of ManLAM on CD4+ T-cell function when both the TCR–CD3 complex and major costimulator CD28 are engaged, we performed label-free quantitative MS and network analysis. Mixed-effect model analysis of peptide intensity identified 149 unique peptides representing 131 proteins that were differentially regulated by ManLAM in anti-CD3- and anti-CD28-activated CD4+ T cells. Crosstalker, a novel network analysis tool identified dysregulated translation, TCA cycle, and RNA metabolism network modules. PCNA, Akt, mTOR, and UBC …

Presidential Executive Orders Duel Over Floodplain Definition As S.E. Florida Prepares For Sea Level Rise, Brion Blackwelder

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Safeguarding Judicial Integrity By Making The Executive Branch's Unfettered Amicus Gateway Transparent: An Argument For The Supreme Court To Exercise Its Inherent Authority To Make Public The President's Tax And Investment Records, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Faculty Scholarship

This article proposes a rule to "level the playing field" in amicus practice. Currently, the executive branch is not required to submit a fiscal disclosure statement to the Court or the lower courts when filing an amicus brief. But there is little evidence to support that the executive branch is filing "in the best interest of the United States," due to the lack of transparency in the White House. Using a historic model as well as contemporary ethics analysis, it becomes clear that there is no historic precedent for requiring the executive branch to conduct itself in the best interest …

An Examination Of Policy Options For Achieving Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions In New Jersey, Gabriel Pacyniak

Faculty Scholarship

An Examination of Policy Options for Achieving Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions in New Jersey surveys emissions and energy trends, describes a “deep decarbonization pathway” for the state, and identifies the types of policies that would be necessary to achieve those reductions. Many of the policies address the power and transportation sectors, which account for more than 60 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions from New Jersey. The report also includes options for improving building efficiency, reducing methane leaks from natural gas infrastructure, restoring natural carbon sinks in forests and wetlands, and incorporating equity considerations to address the needs of frontline …

Rape Is Trespass, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Lost In Transplantation: The Supreme Court's Post-Prudence Jurisprudence, Adam N. Steinman

Faculty Scholarship

This essay is an invited response to Fred Smith's Vanderbilt Law Review article "Undemocratic Restraint." Smith critiques an important trend in the Supreme Court's decisions on standing: the transformation of concepts that had been viewed as judicially-created "prudential" limits on a party's standing to sue into concepts grounded in positive law, such as federal statutes or the Constitution. This essay uses two Supreme Court decisions, which coincidentally came down weeks after Smith's article was published, to highlight some questions and concerns regarding two areas of standing doctrine that Smith examines.

One subject of doctrinal transplantation has been the "zone of …

Bathroom Laws As Status Crimes, Stephen Rushin, Jenny E. Carroll

Faculty Scholarship

A growing number of American jurisdictions have considered laws that prohibit trans individuals from using bathroom facilities consistent with their gender identities. Several scholars have criticized these so-called “bathroom laws” as a form of discrimination in violation of federal law. Few scholars, though, have considered the criminal justice implications of these proposals.

By analyzing dozens of proposed bathroom laws, this Article explores how many laws do more than stigmatize the trans community—they effectively criminalize them. Some of these proposed laws would establish new categories of criminal offenses for trans individuals who use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Others would …

The Problem With Inference For Juvenile Defendants, Jenny E. Carroll

Faculty Scholarship

Much of criminal law relies on proof by inference. In criminal law, fact finders untangle not only what happened, but why it happened. It is answering the “why” question that places an act and its result on the legal spectrum of liability. To reach that answer, the fact finder must engage in an interpretive act, considering not only what can be seen or heard, but the significance of that testimony or physical evidence in real world contexts – the world in which they occurred but also the fact finder’s own world. Recent developments in neuroscience suggest that in the context …

A Spatial Critique Of Intellectual Property Law And Policy, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

Although geography has had an important and lasting impact on the development of intellectual property law and policy, at both the domestic and international levels, geographical perspectives and spatial analysis have thus far not attracted much attention from policymakers and commentators. Only recently have we seen greater linkage between these two undeniably connected fields. Even with such linkage, the discussion tends to focus narrowly on specific issues, such as the parallel importation of pharmaceuticals, the protection of geographical indications and the treatment of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

This article aims to provide a systematic analysis of the linkage …

The Uniform Commercial Code Survey: Introduction, Jennifer S. Martin, Colin P. Marks, Wayne Barnes

Faculty Scholarship

The survey that follows highlights the most important developments of 2016 dealing with domestic and international sales of goods, personal property leases, payments, letters of credit, documents of title, investment securities, and secured transactions. Along with the usual descriptions of interesting judicial decisions highlighted in the survey, there has also been legislative progress in several areas. The 2012 amendments to U.C.C. Article 4A, which address issues related to the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, have been adopted by forty-six states and the District of Columbia, and introduced in Connecticut and Oklahoma. In …

A Framework For Understanding Subfederal Enforcement Of Immigration Laws, Huyen Pham

Faculty Scholarship

In discussing the varied LEA responses, the normative question naturally arises: Which model of immigration enforcement should an LEA embrace? If an LEA with no current immigration enforcement policy were to decide on a model, which model should it choose? Or, if an LEA wants to reconsider its current enforcement model, what factors should it consider in making its decision? The answers to these questions depend on the interests of individual LEAs-interests that may vary from LEA to LEA. The second contribution of this article then is to raise important questions that LEAs should consider in deciding which model is …

Conflict Of Laws (2017), James P. George, Randy D. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

States’ and nations’ laws collide when foreign factors appear in a lawsuit. Nonresident litigants, incidents outside the forum, and judgments from other jurisdictions can create problems with personal jurisdiction, choice of law, and the recognition of foreign judgments. This article reviews Texas conflict cases from Texas state and federal courts during the Survey period from December 1, 2015, through November 30, 2016. The article excludes cases involving federal–state conflicts; intrastate issues, such as subject matter jurisdiction and venue; and conflicts in time, such as the applicability of prior or subsequent law within a state. State and federal cases are discussed …

Voter Psychology And The Carbon Tax, Gary M. Lucas Jr

Faculty Scholarship

Economists across the political spectrum argue that a carbon tax is the most effective and economically efficient policy for addressing climate change. Voters, however, strongly oppose the carbon tax and instead favor “green” subsidies and command-and-control regulations. If carefully designed, these policies might complement a carbon tax, but by themselves, they will make global warming mitigation incredibly expensive and perhaps even infeasible. Moreover, if poorly designed, subsidies and regulations can be counterproductive.

This Article argues that the public dislikes the carbon tax because the tax possesses attributes that make it psychologically unappealing relative to other climate policy instruments. The Article …

Unlocking Exchanges, Brendan S. Maher

Faculty Scholarship

The fate of the Affordable Care Act is uncertain. Moreover, the nation is in an unusual state of political turmoil and may have no appetite for anything other than revolutionary changes to the ACA, if not its outright repeal. But press reports suggest even Republican officials formerly committed to its extirpation are now thinking instead about a measured path forward.

In any event, one fact about the ACA should not escape the attention of serious reformers: the legislation has already accomplished the difficult task of laying the ground work for a move away from employment-based (EB) insurance, a move scholars …

Arming The Second Amendment - And Enforcing The Fourteenth, William Araiza

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Payoff To Second Best Pragmatism: Rethinking Entity Classification For Foreign Companies, Jon Endean

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Citizen Scientists, Data Transparency, And The Mining Industry, Madison Condon

Faculty Scholarship

What happens when a community feels that the standards imposed by state and federal laws are insufficient to protect its health and environment? Or when the responsible government agencies lack the funding, competency, or political will for full enforcement of the law? One of the greatest hurdles facing citizen environmental advocates in these situations is a lack of access to environmental monitoring data. All routes available for policing industry—whether it be rallying community support for protest, petitioning a government agency for enforcement action, or bringing a citizen suit—require, as a first step, an understanding of whether and what pollution has …

Guns On Campus: A Look At The First Year Of Concealed Carry At Texas Universities, Aric K. Short

Faculty Scholarship

After years of failed attempts, the Texas Legislature passed "campus carry" in 2015. Under the new law, effective in 2016 for four-year institutions, public universities must allow the concealed carry of handguns by license holders on their premises. Texas's campus carry law is unique when compared to other states that allow concealed carry on college campuses: each university is given the flexibility to create weapons implementation plans, including the establishment of limited gun-free zones. The first year of campus carry implementation by Texas universities has been relatively quiet, with generally uniform implementation rules established by colleges across the state. However, …

Poster: "Student Project, Class Assignment​ & Shared Shelf @ Wofford​", Youmi Efurd, Luke Meagher

Faculty Scholarship

A poster composed and delivered by Dr. Youmi Efurd and Mr. Luke Meagher summarizing some of their work that supported pedagogy using unique resources made available on ArtStor Shared Shelf Commons by Wofford College. The poster presentation was delivered September 7, 2017 in Washington DC during a conference held by the Council of Independent Colleges in support of its partnership with ArtStor and the CIC's Consortium on Digital Resources for Teaching and Research.

Healing Journey: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Healing Experiences Of Americans Suffering From Trauma And Illness, Kurt C. Stange

Faculty Scholarship

Objectives To elucidate pathways to healing for people having suffered injury to the integrity of their function as a human being. Methods A team of physician-analysts conducted thematic analyses of in-depth interviews of 23 patients who experienced healing, as identified by six primary care physicians purposefully selected as exemplary healers. Results People in the sample experienced healing journeys that spanned a spectrum from overcoming unspeakable trauma and then becoming healers themselves to everyday heroes functioning well despite ongoing serious health challenges. The degree and quality of suffering experienced by each individual is framed by contextual factors that include personal characteristics, …