Digital Commons Network^™

Essay: The Death Penalty In Japan: An "Absurd" Punishment, Joachim Herrmann

Brooklyn Law Review

No abstract provided.

Punitive Damages: How Jurors Fail To Promote Efficiency, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Evidence of corporate risk-cost balancing often leads to inefficient punitive damages awards, suggesting that jurors fail to base their decision making on principles of economic efficiency. In this Article, Professor Viscusi presents the results of two experiments regarding jury behavior and punitive damages. In the first experiment, Professor Viscusi found that mock jurors punish companies for balancing risk against cost, although award levels vary depending on how the economic analysis is presented at trial. The results of the second experiment suggested that mock jurors are unwilling or unable to follow a set of model jury instructions designed to generate efficient …

The Effect Of Electoral Systems On Voting Behavior And Party Development: The Case Of Canada, Chris Andrews

Masters Theses

This thesis will explore three major areas of political science research: The timing of elections, Duverger's law and voter turnout. Each of these topics has been covered extensively in the literature. However, as with most areas of political science, there remain facets of each of these topics that deserve further examination. Chapter 1 begins this discussion with an introduction to each of these three topics and a description of the Canadian electoral and party systems.

Chapter 2 examines the impact of the timing of elections on the government party in Canadian parliamentary elections. This chapter shows that there are aspects …

Gray Cloud Obscures The Rainbow: Why Homosexuality As Defamation Contradicts New Jersey Public Policy To Combat Homophobia And Promote Equal Protection, Rachel M. Wrightson

Journal of Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

The Observing Body: Quantum Mechanics, The Anthropic Principles, And Panopticism, C. Jason Smith

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

When philosopher of history and science Michel Serres wrote of that rare and narrow passage between the human sciences and the exact sciences [1], he intended to suggest not only the infrequency and difficulty of such contact, but also the unwillingness on either side to engage in what could be a dangerous, low-profit venture. It seems a long haul back to our common origins in philosophia, and typically, efforts to regain common ground between the disciplines have approached the problem as a one-sided move from the exact sciences to the study of the humanities. Notable exceptions such …

The Promise And Pitfalls Of Using Imprecise School Accountability Measures, Thomas J. Kane, Douglas O. Staiger

Dartmouth Scholarship

In recent years, most states have constructed elaborate accountability systems using school-level test scores. However, because the median elementary school contains only 69 children per grade level, such measures are quite imprecise. We evaluate the implications for school accountability systems. For instance, rewards or sanctions for schools with scores at either extreme primarily affect small schools and provide weak incentives to large ones. Nevertheless, we conclude that accountability systems may be worthwhile. Even in states with aggressive financial incentives, the marginal reward to schools for raising student performance is a small fraction of the potential labor market value for students.

Pick A Number, Any Number: State Representation In Congress After The 2000 Census, Paul H. Edelman, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In this essay, Professors Edelman and Sherry explain the mathematics behind the allocation of congressional seats to each state, and survey the different methods of allocation that Congress has used over the years. Using 2000 census figures, they calculate each state's allocation under five different methods, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods.

On Legal Interpretations Of The Condorcet Jury Theorem, Paul H. Edelman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

There has been a spate of interest in the application of the Condorcet Jury Theorem to issues in the law. This theorem holds that a majority vote among a suitably large body of voters, all of whom are more likely than not to vote correctly, will almost surely result in the correct outcome. Its uses have ranged from estimating the correct size of juries to justifying the voting of creditors in Chapter 11 reorganizations. While the mathematics is unassailable, the legal interpretation of the conclusion is dependent on the model of probability one uses when invoking the assumption that the …

Pick A Number, Any Number: State Representation In Congress After The 2000 Census, Suzanna Sherry, Paul H. Edelman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In this essay, Professors Edelman and Sherry explain the mathematics behind the allocation of congressional seats to each state, and survey the different methods of allocation that Congress has used over the years. Using 2000 census figures, they calculate each state's allocation under five different methods, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods.

The Law And Large Numbers, Paul H. Edelman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Can mathematics be used to inform legal analysis? This is not a ridiculous question. Law has certain superficial resem­blances to mathematics. One might view the Constitution and various statutes as providing "axioms" for a deductive legal sys­tem. From these axioms judges deduce "theorems" consisting of interpretation of these axioms in certain situations. Often these theorems are built on previously "proven" theorems, i.e. earlier decisions of the court. Of course some of the axioms might change, and occasionally a theorem that was once true becomes false; the former is a common feature of mathematics, the latter, though theoretically not possible in …

Responding To District Systemic Change: A Case Study Of Campus Leadership Team Member Responses Regarding School-Based Management, Mona Rae Davidson Briggs

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to explore to what extent school-based management (SBM) was being implemented in one urban middle school and to specifically analyze attitudes and perceptions of participants' beliefs and opinions around issues of power, information, knowledge, and rewards. A qualitative case study approach was used that included interviews with the Campus Leadership Team (CLT) members, observations, and review of relevant school and district documents. Study findings revealed that SBM was intended to be a strategy for ensuring that fundamental changes would take place to support improved student performance. While student academic achievement was the primary focus, …

The Afterglow And Complex Environment Of The Optically Dim Burst Grb 980613, Jens Hjorth, Bjarne Thomsen, Svend R. Nielsen, Michael I. Andersen, Stephen T. Holland, Johan U. Fynbo, Holger Pederson, Andreas O. Jaunsen, Jules P. Halpern, Robert Fesen, Javier Gorosabel, Alberto Castro-Tirado, Richard G. Mcmahon, Michael D. Hoenig, Gunnlaugur Bjornsson, Lorenzo Amati, Nial R. Tanvir, Priyamvada Natarajan

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report the identification of the optical afterglow of GRB 980613 in R- and I-band images obtained between 16 and 48 hr after the gamma-ray burst. Early near-infrared (NIR) H and K' observations are also reported. The afterglow was optically faint (R ≈ 23) at discovery but did not exhibit an unusually rapid decay (power-law decay slope α < 1.8 at 2 σ). The optical/NIR spectral index (β_RH < 1.1) was consistent with the optical-to-X-ray spectral index (β_RX ≈ 0.6), indicating a maximal reddening of the afterglow of ≈0.45 mag in R. Hence, the dimness of the optical afterglow was mainly due to the fairly flat spectral shape rather than internal reddening …

Popper Vs The Armchair Economists, Gerardo L. Largoza

DLSU Business & Economics Review

ARE ECONOMISTS GUILTY of not practising what they preach? Do they pay no more than lip service to the importance of constructing falsifiable theories? Does much of what passes as science among the economic illuminati actually fail to meet the standards of proper (Popperian) methodology? These are the questions posed by Mark Blaug in his 1980 text, "The Methodology of Economics (Or How Economists Explain)".

The Effect Of Capital Market Liberalization Measures On The Integration Of The Philippine Stock Market With International Markets: Evidence From Johansen's Multivariate Cointegration Procedure¹, Angelo A. Unite

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Given the recent developments in the liberalization and internationalization of the Philippine capital market, it is important to re-examine the issue of Philippine equity market integration with the international equity markets.• In particular, this study will investigate the impact of the domestic capital market liberalization on the degree of integration of the equity market of the Philippines with those of its top sources of foreign investments and major trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region, namely, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.

2002-2003 Graduate Catalog, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Armstrong Office of the Registrar: Graduate Catalogs (Archived)

Academic catalog for Armstrong State College.

Data-Efficient Methods Applied To General Spectral Image Capture, Mitchell Rosen, Francisco Imai, Mark Fairchild

Articles

Commercialization of spectral imaging for color reproduction will require low bandwidth but highly accurate spectral image acquisition systems. Self-adapting systems are proposed as potential solutions. Such systems perform spectral content analysis on an encountered scene, reacting to the analysis by configuring efficient high quality spectral reconstruction. An experiment is reported comparing scene-derived spectral estimation transforms to static global transforms in multi-channel imaging simulations. For noisefree simulations, the adaptive approach showed clear benefit in terms of colorimetric and spectral statistics. When noise was added, the adaptive method continued to be superior in terms of spectral evaluations, but colorimetric degradation for the …

A Theoretical Analysis Of Habitat Conversion And Biodiversity Conservation Over Time And Under Uncertainty, Amitrajeet A. Batabyal

Articles

We exploit the known links between natural habitats and biodiversity to pose and study the biodiversity conservation question as an optimal stopping problem. We extend the extant literature on this question by studying the role that autonomous and nonautonomous policies play in the decision to conserve biodiversity over time and uncertainty. We first construct a dynamic and stochastic model of decision making in the context of biodiversity conservation. Next, we use this model to analyze the expected utility of a social planner when this planner uses, respectively, autonomous and nonautonomous policies. Finally, we compare and contrast the properties of autonomous …

Towards A Canadian Policy For Patenting Disease Genes, S. Jodi Gallagher

Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies

Thousands of human genes, many associated with human disease processes and diagnosis, have been patented in Canada. The scope of these patents has restricted public access to genetic testing and raised the question of whether human genetic material should be subject to differential treatment by our patent law regime. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has failed to offer guidelines on the application of patent laws to genetic material, symptomatic of the broader problem of a lack of strong federal leadership in this area. In this paper I will engage the debate over patenting of human genes specifically as it …

An Introduction To The International Criminal Court, Ian Rennie

Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies

Book review of An Introduction to the International Criminal Court by William A. Schabas and published by Cambridge University Press (Cambridge), 2001. (406 pp.)

Undergrowth Vegetation Response To Fuel Reduction Treatments In The Blue Mountains Of Eastern Oregon, Kerry L. Metlen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Examination Of The Iconography Of The Minoan Goddess As A Nature Goddess, Gaelen Schell Curtis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Genus, Benjamin Bloch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of The Use Of Artificial Neural Networks, Fractal Time Series And Fractal Neural Networks In Financial Forecasts, Beverly A. Swisshelm

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Effective prediction of future financial states has been a major quest for groups ranging from national governments to individual investors. The size, diversity and complexity of financial markets make traditional statistical methods ineffective in predicting beyond a very short time frame. Alternative models using artificial neural networks and fractal time series have had better results in long-term predictions, but still do not work in all situations. This dissertation combined features of artificial neural networks and fractal time series to create a fractal neural network. Fractals exhibit repetitive patterns when a unit is broken down into its components. This similarity property …

Optimal Bankruptcy In A Non-Optimal World, Richard M. Hynes

Faculty Publications

Consumer bankruptcy insures individuals against misfortune. Like other forms of insurance, bankruptcy reduces an individual's incentive to guard against misfortune and provides her with an incentive to overstate her need for relief. The "first-best," or optimal, bankruptcy system, like the first-best tax or public assistance system, solves these moral hazards without any loss of efficiency. In bankruptcy, this first-best approach would deny relief to debtors responsible for their own distress and reduce the deserving debtors' obligations to an amount commensurate with their ability to pay. While the Bankruptcy Code tries (in part) to follow this first-best approach, such a utopian …

Application Of A Rational Model In Gis For Flood Risk Assessment In Accra, Ghana

Journal of Spatial Hydrology

Accra has been experiencing periodic flooding that affect properties and lives. The government seeing the dangers involved has commissioned institutions such as Ministry of Works and Housing, Town and Country Planning and City Engineers to identify flood risk zones and adapt measures that will help reduce flood damages. These institutions identify flood risk zones using conventional methods such as watermarks on buildings and reported cases in the news media. Works carried out by these agencies were not able to give details about potential areas that are likely to experience this extreme event. Hence there was the need to find a …

The Bible Code, John A. Tvedtnes

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

Review of The Bible Code (1997), by Michael Drosnin

A Personel Note, Leopold B. Felsen

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

No abstract provided.

Iterative Solution Of Field Problems With A Varying Physical Parameter, Anton G. Tijhuis, Martijn C. Van Beurden, A. Peter M. Zwamborn

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this paper, linear field problems with a varying physical parameter are solved with the conjugate-gradient FFT method and a dedicated extrapolation procedure for generating the initial estimate. The scheme is formulated and illustrated for two simple example problems. The importance of the choice of the stop criterion and the step size are demonstrated for the case of a straight thin-wire segment. A brief summary is given of the applications that have appeared in the open literature until now, and actual three-dimensional scattering problems for a rectangular conducting plate and an inhomogeneous, dispersive dielectric body are discussed. Finally, the case …

Network--Oriented Modeling Of Radiating Electromagnetic Structures, Peter Russer

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The application of network-oriented modeling for radiating electromagnetic structures is investigated. Network methods are applied to the field problem using the segmentation technique and by specifying canonical Foster representations as compact models of reciprocal linear lossless electromagnetic structures. Connection between different subdomains is obtained via connection circuits exhibiting only ideal transformers. In the case of radiating structures, the complete structure is embedded into a sphere and the field outside the sphere is expanded into orthogonal spherical TM- and TE- waves. For each radiation mode a Cauer canonic circuit representation is given.

Novel Time Domain Radiowave Propagators For Wireless Communication Systems, Funda Akleman, M. O. Özyalçin, Levent Sevgi̇

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this study, novel time domain wave propagators are used in path loss calculations for macro and micro cell coverage planning in wireless communication systems. Both Transmission Line Matrix (TLM) and Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) based propagators, which were introduced recently and validated and verified on different canonical propagation scenarios, are used for this purpose. Examples are chosen both in rural and urban areas, where two propagators are compared with each other. Excellent agreement between the results obtained via two propagators is presented. The results presented here are very encouraging and these propagators are shown to be powerful tools for not …