Digital Commons Network^™

Reconstruction And Constitution Building In Iraq, A. Kevin Reinhart, Gilbert S. Merritt

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

I would like to thank Vanderbilt Law School and all of the many sponsors for the invitation, and especially the Foreign Service Legal Society whose officers worked so hard to put this together. I appreciate very much the opportunity to talk to you all about Iraq. I need to begin with sort of a prelude: the things that were part of my training are in a way irrelevant to what I was doing this summer. I was not there in a professional capacity, as an Islamicist; I was there instead as a volunteer for the International Rescue Committee (IRC). I …

Labor Standards On Cypriot Ships: Myth And Reality, Iliana Christodoulou-Varotsi, Dmitri A. Pentsov

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of labor and social security standards on Cypriot and Greek ships. Potential cost savings for shipowners who register their ships in one country rather than the other may result from the absence of a given standard in the country of registration, or a lower or more flexible standard in that country than in the other. The authors conclude that the registration of ships in Cyprus does not provide overall advantages (in terms of "inferior" labor standards) over registration in Greece. Broadly speaking, shipowners may gain certain advantages by registering their ships in Cyprus …

The Lives Of Animals, The Lives Of Prisoners, And The Revelations Of Abu Ghraib, Charles H. Brower, Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Brower suggests that the images depicting inhuman treatment of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison contain timely lessons about the function and the importance of legal personality. To illustrate this thesis, the Author first identifies animals as a population condemned to an existence bereft of the protections that accompany legal personality. Next, the Author describes the chilling similarities between the treatment of animals and the treatment of prisoners in Iraq and in the so-called "Global War on Terror." Finally, the Author discusses three potential lessons for a nation widely perceived to have retreated from its commitment …

Taking Back The Trash: Comparing European Extended Producer Responsibility And Take-Back Liability To U.S. Environmental Policy And Attitudes, Megan Short

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note explores the mandates adopted by the European Union and individual European states and examines the feasibility of their implementation in the United States. Part II outlines the current extended producer responsibility schemes in Europe and the current waste disposal system in the United States. Part III examines the societal and cultural differences that account for varying environmental attitudes in Europe and the United States, with a focus on Germany. Part IV discusses the feasibility of developing national take-back requirements in the United States by examining legislative obstacles and other barriers. Part V offers a conclusion and recommendation for …

Annual Report Of The Registrar 2003/2004, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

--- Definitions
--- Annual Report Data
--- Summary of Attendance
--- Attendance by Session
--- Full-time Equivalency Enrollment
--- Degrees Granted
--- Degree Summary
--- Program Certificates
--- Pupils in Price Laboratory School
--- Miscellaneous Enrollment Information
--- Degrees Granted by College, Degree Objective, and Racial/Ethnic Classification

Rebuilding A Broken Regime: Restructuring The Export Administration Act, Nathan T.H. Lloyd

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Export Administration Act (EAA) authorizes the President to control the export of "dual-use" goods and technology for national security and foreign policy purposes. "Dual-use" items are goods or technology that are commercial or civil in nature and can be used to produce sophisticated, dangerous weaponry. The EAA expired ten years ago, and although it has been continued by various Executive Orders since, Congress has failed to renew the legislation. As part of the larger export control regime in the United States, the EAA has been an utter failure. Dual-use goods have made their way into the hands of a …

Theoretical Considerations For Geosynchronous, Earth-Based Gravity Wave Interferometer, William Griffin

Honors Program Theses

We investigated theoretical considerations in the design of an Earth-based laser interferometer for detecting gravitational waves. Our design envisages a ground-based tracking station in communication with two geosynchronous satellites. We assumed linearized gravitational waves in a Schwarzschild spacetime geometry outside the Earth. Our initial calculations show that such a design is sufficiently sensitive to successfully detect gravitational waves near Earth.

Collection Management As Risk Management, Mary F. Casserly

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Risk and technological changes are inexorably linked, and librarians, as experts, must communicate these risks to lay persons and develop appropriate risk management strategies. This paper identifies some of the risks to library primacy, library and professional values, collection integrity, and scholarly communication and the information marketplace that those involved in collection development and acquisition of library materials may encounter. The sources of these risks are briefly described, and the author suggests some risk management strategies.

The Body And Technology In Popular Culture, Przemyslaw Psuj

Theses : Honours

The human experience of the world today is increasingly adapted and understood via technological terms and systems. This thesis analyses and examines the ways in which technology today impacts upon the human body and its capacities in the area of subculture and music. Also considered are the implications of this notion for the future. Primarily my study stems from theory proposed by Donna Haraway (1985) and her image of the cyborg and its inherently hybrid nature. Picking up on this point, I will look specifically at the existence and representation of the hybrid body in popular culture. Some critics fear …

Evaluation Of An Esperanto-Based Interlingua Multilingual Survey Form Machine Translation Mechanism Incorporating A Sublanguage Translation Methodolgy, Richard Boddington

Theses : Honours

Translation costs restrict the preparation of medical survey and other questionnaires for migrant communities in Western Australia. This restriction is compounded by a lack of affordable and accurate machine translation mechanisms. This research investigated and evaluated combined strategies intended to provide an efficacious and affordable machine translator by: • using an interlingua or pivot-language that requires less resources for its construction than contemporary systems and has the additional benefit of significant error reduction; and • defining smaller lexical environments to restrict data, thereby reducing the complexity of translation rules and enhancing correct semantic transfer between natural languages. This research focussed …

Under The Thumb : The Role Of Sms In The Forming And Maintenance Of Adolescent Dating Relationships, Jason Noble

Theses : Honours

The use of the mobile phone is a ubiquitous feature of many an individual's social life within contemporary society. Given this, it is somewhat surprising that little academic research has been undertaken into its effects on the social and cultural lives of key user populations. In particular, the Short Message Service- SMS texting- is a mobile phone application that has transformed the lives of large numbers of adolescent city dwellers. Moreover, teenagers and young adults, who represent the adolescent population, have adopted this mobile phone application and subsequently applied it to their social lives in ways that never would have …

The Abject In The Technological Other, Alex Bradley

Theses : Honours

A photographic project and exegesis demonstrating artificial intelligence and artificial life as occurrences of the abject. In the photographic project '0=2', the technologies of artificial intelligence and artificial life are examined in relation to identity, via an elaboration of the psychoanalytic concert of the 'abject'. An exegesis of the creative project contains an investigation of computer technologies in regard to identity, an analysis of the basic concepts and paradigms of the sciences of artificial intelligence and artificial life, and an elaboration of the psychoanalytic concept of the abject - demonstrating A.l. and a-life as cultural instantiations of abjection. In addition, …

Banksia Woodland Resilience To Groundwater Drawdown On The Gnangara Mound, Llewellyn Broun

Theses : Honours

Water is considered to be the major limiting resource to plant growth and survival in regions with a Mediterranean-type climate, particularly during dry summer periods when low water potentials develop (Poole et al., 1981; Miller et al., 1983-84; Mooney and Miller, 1985; Stock et al., 1992). The Swan Coastal Plain is situated within this climatic region and interactions between the climate, soil and geology has an important bearing on the water requirements of the associated Banksia woodlands (Dodd and Heddle, 1989). The assessment of the condition of any vegetative community and in this case, the resilience of Banksia woodlands to …

Using Information And Communication Technology For Human Development: Comparing Strategies, Jenny Engelbrektsson

Theses : Honours

In the last 20 years, applications of lnformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have impacted on the economics of the industrialised world. In today's "information society", information and knowledge are essential to social and economic development. However, not everyone has access to ICI sand the information they may provide. There is concern that existing inequities of income, knowledge, skills and measures of social development may increase as a result of a growing "digital divide" both between and within countries. There is an ongoing discussion within the international community about whether ICTs may play a significant role in human development. This study …

Developing Software For Wound Measurement, Savo Kordic

Theses : Honours

Chronic wounds such as leg ulcers, pressure ulcers and diabetic ulcers affect many thousands of people in Australia. In addition to the costs of these wounds in terms of human suffering, loss of income and resources, there are costs related to the treatment of ulcers. Thus, there is a genuine need to develop an accurate and a fully objective application for wound measurement. The aim of this project was to create software for the measurement of wounds. In achieving this goal, several issues were addressed: an accurate measurement method capable of detecting small changes in an open wound surface area, …

Barriers To The Acceptance And Utilisation Of Knowledge Management Systems: An Exploratory Study, Patricia Kennett

Theses : Honours

Organisations entering the 21st Century arc exposed to an environment of continuous change, a challenge that requires a movement away from more predictable structures of the past, with hierarchies and formal chains of command. The emerging fluid and network like structures present new challenges for ensuring the development and dissemination of organisational knowledge. An area of considerable current debate involves the issue of harmony and balance between and organisation's culture and its Knowledge Management (KM) systems. The focus of this study is on organisations that are recognising the implications of these changes and are responding by installing knowledge systems in …

Exploring The Possibilities Of Three Dimensional Image Manipulations On Mobile Devices, Thanuja Nuwan Hettiarachchi

Theses : Honours

With the introduction of more powerful mobile microprocessors and colour screen technology, complex image manipulations on various mobile devices such as mobile phones and handheld devices have become a reality. As a consequence of these improvements, there has been an increasing demand by users for interactive computer games which produce complex graphics by utilizing these advanced hardware technologies. Three dimensional (3D) graphics have been used to produce realistic interactive imaging for computer games during recent years. Java, through its mobile device programming platform, provides the framework for such complex image manipulations in computer games deployed on Java compatible mobile devices. …

Sox In The Boardroom: The Impact Of Sarbanes-Oxley 2002 On The Corporate Reporting Of The Fortune Fifty, Angela Boedeker

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

When I began this research project I believed that I would find some major differences in reporting between the 2001 and 2002 financial reports of major corporations. My research question was, "What was the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on the corporate reporting of the top 50 corporations in America as identified by Fortune magazine." Each year Fortune magazine lists the top 500 public corporations in American with the rankings based upon revenues. The results of the 2001 financial reports of these corporations led to the 2002 listing in the magazine; the results of the 2002 financial reports …

Paperless Construction: How Contractors Can Adjust To Change In The Industry, Tyler Hackman, James Lindgren, Kerri Rackow, Chris Snyder

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Paperless construction, in a nut shell, is the use of online or electronic programs for managing contracts, changes, drawings, submittals, RFis, correspondence, lab data, and inspection reports (Construction). The paperless construction movement is making its way through all types of construction, including residential, commercial, and heavy highway. It affects the whole project, from pre-bid, to project management, to closeout, and as the industry constantly becomes more paperless, contractors are forced to make changes in their processes to keep up with the trend. Peters Construction Corporation in Waterloo, Iowa, is an example a company committed to keeping on the leading edge. …

Sarbanes-Oxley: A Compliance Case Study, Rachel Kass

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Sarbanes-Oxley is a piece of legislation passed into law on July 30, 2002 (The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 With Analysis, 2002, p. iii). The act was developed to, " .. . to enhance public company governance, responsibility, and disclosure (p. l)." The official name of the act is Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act. The name Sarbanes-Oxley comes from the act's co-sponsors: Senator Paul Sarbanes, D-Maryland and Senator Michael Oxley, R-Ohio. (Callaghan, 2004) The legislation adds requirements for publicly held corporations, not private companies, in the United States regarding internal controls and financial reporting. Sarbanes-Oxley, nicknamed SOX, …

Laureate, 2004, Old Dominion University

University Yearbooks

2004 yearbook of Old Dominion University

116th Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2004], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Notes Page --- 3
Friday Program Summary --- 4
Senior Academy Poster Presentation Titles --- 5
General Session Speakers --- 7
Symposia Programs --- 8
Saturday Program Summary --- 9
Section Meeting Programs (Alphabetical by Section) --- 9
2004 Awards --- 14
Abstracts (by Section) --- 15
Author Index --- 42

Resource Harvesting Within The Oai-Pmh Framework, Herbert Van De Sompel, Michael L. Nelson, Carl Lagoze, Simeon Warner

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Motivated by preservation and resource discovery, we examine how digital resources, and not just metadata about resources, can be harvested using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). We review and critique existing techniques for identifying and gathering digital resources using metadata harvested through the OAI-PMH. We introduce an alternative solution that builds on the introduction of complex object formats that provide a more accurate way to describe digital resources. We argue that the use of complex object formats as OAI-PMH metadata formats results in a reliable and attractive approach for incremental harvesting of resources using the OAI-PMH.

Turning The Endangered Species Act Inside Out, Jud Mathews

Faculty Scholarship

Within a week, both the Fifth and D.C. Circuits upheld the takings prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as applied to species found only in single states, against Commerce Clause challenges. Both cases reach the same result, but the legal analysis used to get there could hardly be more different. In GDF Realty, the Fifth Circuit found the requisite "substantial impact" on commerce by treating the species themselves as commodities and aggregating the economic impact of all endangered species "takings". The D.C. Circuit, by contrast, held in Rancho Viejo that the true object of ESA regulation …

Environmental Regulation, Energy, And Market Entry, Richard J. Pierce Jr

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

As my contribution to a symposium, I was asked to identify and to discuss conflicts between environmental regulation and pursuit of the goals of national energy policy. I identify three contexts in which I see clear conflicts between environmental regulation and energy policy - gasoline production, importation of liquefied natural gas, and transmission of electricity. In each case, I conclude that the conflict is attributable to state and local regulations. In the case of the gasoline market, I conclude that the market is beginning to perform poorly because of a combination of state land use regulations that make it impossible …

Political Questions And Political Remedies, Jonathan R. Siegel

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Defenders of the political question doctrine sometimes observe that the lack of a judicial remedy for a constitutional violation does not deprive injured parties of all remedy, because injured parties can pursue a political or an electoral remedy - they can seek relief at the ballot box or in the political process. This essay criticizes that argument. Political and electoral remedies for constitutional violations are ineffective for important practical and theoretical reasons that grow out of the different structures of the judicial, political, and electoral processes. The judicial process focuses each case on a particular issue; candidates in elections always …

A Survey Of Theories Of Change Within Philanthropy, Angela Jean Morris

Masters Theses

This paper reviews the term “theory of change” including its common usage in evaluative literature and its emerging usage in the field of philanthropy. A survey of U.S. foundations looked at their familiarity with theory of change: how they defined it, and how many theories they implemented based on a typology created by Frumkin (2002).

There was confusion about theory of change among top U.S. foundations. Only 54% indicated they were familiar with theory of change. Foundations familiar with the term had no clear consensus on the definition.

Eighty-six percent used at least one out of the five theories of …

The Rational Man, Darrell Steinberg

Short Story

No abstract provided.

Golf Course Pollution Prevention Guide, Iowa Waste Reduction Center

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Book Gallery

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pollution prevention can be defined as: “The use of materials, processes, or practices that reduces or eliminates the creation of pollutants or wastes at the source.” Pollution prevention represents a shift away from the old school of thought, “pollution control,” in which waste was not dealt with until after it was generated. Through pollution prevention, we look at the processes that generate the waste to see if we can avoid creating a waste in the first place, or at least reduce the hazardous nature of the waste. When this is not possible, the …

Istart: Interactive Strategy Training For Active Reading And Thinking, Danielle S. Mcnamara, Irwin B. Levinstein, Chutima Boonthum

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking (iSTART) is a Web-based application that provides young adolescent to college-age students with high-level reading strategy training to improve comprehension of science texts. iSTART is modeled after an effective, human-delivered intervention called self-explanation reading training (SERT), which trains readers to use active reading strategies to self-explain difficult texts more effectively. To make the training more widely available, the Web-based trainer has been developed. Transforming the training from a human-delivered application to a computer-based one has resulted in a highly interactive trainer that adapts its methods to the performance of the students. The …