Digital Commons Network^™

Complex Litigation Lecture: The Adversary System And Modern Class Action Practice, Roger H. Trangsrud

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In modern class action practice, the class action device can enormously expand the availability of justice but can also cause substantial injustice to defendants and absent class members when improperly used. The latter is often the case because Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure has come to be interpreted by the federal courts in ways that mask the proper criteria that should be used in deciding whether to certify a class action. Thus, Rule 23 needs a complete overhaul. First, Rule 23 should be amended to allow appeals as of right, not discretion, from orders granting or …

The Self-Defensive Cognition Of Self-Defense, Donald Braman, Dan M. Kahan

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Why do certain self-defense cases - ones, e.g., involving battered women who kill their sleeping abusers, or beleaguered commuters who shoot panhandling minority teens - provoke intense political conflict? The conventional and seemingly obvious answer is that people judge such cases in a politically partisan fashion. This paper, however, suggests a subtler and more complex explanation. Social psychologists have shown that individuals resolve factual ambiguities in a manner supportive of their defining values, both to minimize dissonance and to protect their connection to others who share their commitments. This form of self-defensive cognition, it is submitted, shapes individuals' perceptions of …

The Case For Tolerant Constitutional Patriotism: The Right To Privacy Before The European Courts, Francesca Bignami

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The theory of constitutional patriotism has been advanced as a solution to the European Union's legitimacy woes. Europeans, according to this theory, should recognize themselves as members of a single human community and thus acknowledge the legitimacy of Europe-wide governance based on their shared belief in a common set of liberal democratic values. Yet in its search for unity, constitutional patriotism, like nationalism and other founding myths, carries the potential for the exclusion of others. This article explores the illiberal tendencies of one element of the liberal canon - the right to privacy - in the case law of Europe's …

Randomized Legal Experimentation, Michael B. Abramowicz

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Social scientists have performed and analyzed a number of randomized studies of policies, but the legal literature has not addressed whether and how the legal system should incorporate experimental methods. This Article identifies several benefits of randomized legal experimentation and argues that these benefits supports self-executing experiments, whose results would lead to policy changes agreed upon in advance. Randomized experiments can generate information, and self-execution can help ensure that this information affects the policy process. Such experiments may be easier to enact than other legal reforms, because each side of a policy debate may believe that an experiment is likely …

The Ecology Of Corporate Governance In China, Donald C. Clarke

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The substantive norms of Chinese corporate governance have been studied extensively inside and outside China. Yet much less attention has been paid to the Chinese institutional environment that determines whether and how far those norms will be made meaningful. While complaints about general lack of enforcement are common, less common are analyzes that concretely tie institutional capacity to specific enforcement problems. This article aims to fill that gap. It surveys a number of state and non-state channels for the enforcement of corporate governance rules and standards in China, from markets to regulatory bodies, looking at the specific capacities of each. …

Target Saving In An Overlapping Generations Model, Ashok S. Guha, Brishti Guha

Research Collection School Of Economics

We examine a model in which the utility function has been engineered so that it is optimal for consumers to aim for a fixed target level of retirement resources. In this case consumption displays excess sensitivity to current income as well as perfect old age insurance. In an overlapping generations model, this leads naturally to multiple and unstable equilibria. Under static expectations, it also leads to a well-defined dynamics, including possible historical traps, implosions involving ever-diminishing capital stock and ever-increasing interest rates, and the feasibility of optimal one-time interventions.

Two-Sample Estimation Of Poverty Rates For Disabled People: An Application To Tanzania, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

Estimating poverty measures for disabled people in developing countries is di cult, partly because relevant data are not available. We develop two methods to estimate poverty by the disability status of the household head. We extend the small-area estimation proposed by Elbers, Lanjouw and Lanjouw (2002, 2003) so that we can run a regression on head's disability status even when such information is unavailable in the survey. We do so by aggregation and by moment adjusted two sample instrumental variable estimation. Our results from Tanzania show that both methods work well, and that disability is indeed associated with poverty.

Education And Trade, Pao Li Chang, Fali Huang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper examines the inherent link between a countryís education system and its comparative advantage in trade. It suggests that di§erences in education systems across countries are probably a stable equilibrium result that is compatible with and reinforced by trade patterns. In equilibrium, two distinct types of countries emerge, one that exports creativity-intensive products and has an education system encouraging diversity (as illustrated by the US), and the other one that exports high-quality manufactured products and has an education system promoting homogeneity in student quality (as illustrated by Japan). Our Öndings present a novel explanation for the coexistence of low …

Optimal Bandwidth Selection In Heteroskedasticity-Autocorrelation Robust Testing, Yixiao Sun, Peter C. B. Phillips, Sainan Jin

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper considers studentized tests in time series regressions with nonparametrically autocorrelated errors. The studentization is based on robust standard errors with truncation lag M = bT for some constant b ∈ (0, 1] and sample size T. It is shown that the nonstandard fixed-b limit distributions of such nonparametrically studentized tests provide more accurate approximations to the finite sample distributions than the standard small-b limit distribution. We further show that, for typical economic time series, the optimal bandwidth that minimizes a weighted average of type I and type II errors is larger by an order of magnitude than the …

Refined Inference On Long Memory In Realized Volatility, Peter C. B. Phillips, Offer Lieberman

Research Collection School Of Economics

There is an emerging consensus in empirical finance that realized volatility series typically display long range dependence with a memory parameter around 0.4 (Andersen et al., 2001; Martens et al., 2004). The present article provides some illustrative analysis of how long memory may arise from the accumulative process underlying realized volatility. The article also uses results in Lieberman and Phillips (2004, 2005) to refine statistical inference about by higher order theory. Standard asymptotic theory has an error rate for error rejection probabilities, and the theory used here refines the approximation to an error rate of. The new formula is independent …

Unit Root Model Selection, Peter C. B. Phillips

Research Collection School Of Economics

Some limit properties for information based model selection criteria are given in the context of unit root evaluation and various assumptions about initial conditions. Allowing for a nonparametric short memory component, standard information criteria are shown to be weakly consistent for a unit root provided the penalty coefficient Cn?? and Cn/n?0 as n??. Strong consistency holds when Cn/(log logn)3?? under conventional assumptions on initial conditions and under a slightly stronger condition when initial conditions are infinitely distant in the unit root model. The limit distribution of the AIC criterion is obtained.

Computerized Adaptive Testing In Mathematics For Primary Schools In Thailand, Chaowprapha Chuesathuchon

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A new system-wide educational change has been introduced in Thailand requiring, amongst other things, that technologies for education be utilized in all levels of education. This study focuses on Mathematics Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) designed to provide Thai primary school teachers with an innovative method of assessment, one of the effective tools of new technology to be used in Thai primary schools. This study aims to: (1) construct multiple-choice test items for a Mathematics course on the topic of Equations for Year 6 (Prathom Suksa 6) students in Thailand; (2) calibrate the test items using a Rasch Measurement Model, investigate …

Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers Today, Jeniffer M. Lane

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This portfolio documents the learning journey of a preservice teacher educator in Western Australia. The problem investigated is how should we best to prepare preservice teachers for teaching in future contexts. This document has several sections, firstly the literature review discusses topics that have relevance for teacher educators preparing teachers of the future to work in a knowledge-based economy. Then four phases of research both quantitative and qualitative are presented interlinked by a personal narrative. The narrative describes how the studies and research impacted on the teaching practices of the researcher. The powerful findings of the research with teachers in …

Choice Of Law For Unjust Enrichment/Restitution And The Rome Ii Regulation, Adeline Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

After being considered as niche territory for a long period, conflicts of law and restitution has provided a fertile ground for exposition in recent times. Whilst some development on the jurisdictional front has occurred, choice of law has lagged behind somewhat as, in England at least, no one seemed to be quite sure what was or should be the choice of law rule for restitutionary claims. However, the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (commonly known as the Rome II Regulation) has now entered into force and will apply from …

Settlement Agreements As Defences To Unjust Enrichment Claims, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There is unanimity that where there is a contract of settlement, an unjust enrichment claim is barred.  However, there is uncertainty in this area because it is sometimes quite difficult to determine whether a contract of settlement has been concluded between the parties.  This essay will consider the various tests for determining the boundaries of a settlement contract. In the absence of an express settlement agreement, the argument made in this paper is that the most satisfactory and practical approach to deciding whether there is an implied settlement agreement is to focus on whether the payor was consciously aware of …

Auditing Standards Board (Asb) Meeting, May 6-8, 2008, Chicago, Il, Approved Highlights; Asb Highlights May 2008, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants. Auditing Standards Board

Association Sections, Divisions, Boards, Teams

No abstract provided.

Auditing Standards Board (Asb) Meeting, October 27-30, 2008, Phoenix, Az; October 27-30, 2008 Asb Meeting Highlights, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants. Auditing Standards Board

Association Sections, Divisions, Boards, Teams

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Marine Pollution Along Qatar’S Coasts, Mariam Saud Sadoon Al-Adba

Theses

In 2006 a study was carried out to evaluate organic and petroleum pollutants including: Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and PolyChlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in coastal bottom sediments of Qatar, as well to determine the source of petroleum pollutant in the environment.

The study included 15 stations along the coastline, at a 100 m distance from the shoreline. The average TOC % analyzed in the study area is 0.262 % which is less than other regional studies. The average TPH in Qatar sediment is around 133.46 mg/kg; this is lower …

Pandemic Preparedness Among Sudanese Migrants In Greater Cairo, Yasmine Ahmed, Rebecca Dibb

Faculty Journal Articles

This study looked at the perceptions and vulnerabilities of Sudanese migrants to an influenza pandemic in Egypt. Migrants’ limited access to health and non-health public services in Egypt and the absence of a specific migrants’ component in the Egyptian National Pandemic Preparedness Plan provide indication of the vulnerability of migrants, both in terms of prevention and actual protection during a pandemic. This research project, commissioned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and conducted by the Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at the American University in Cairo, aimed to provide a situational analysis of pandemic preparedness among the …

Assessment Of Noise Impact Of Air Traffic At Dubai International Airport, Maryam Ali Ahmad Al Balooshi

Theses

The aviation industry in UAE has experienced rapid expansion over the past decade due to increase in economic growth and technological advancements. UAE’s total fiscal investment on airport development over the coming 20 years is estimated to exceed Dh 71 billion (US$19.35 billion). Civil aviation now a day is considered one of the greatest environmental concerns which lead to many different environmental problems. The International Aviation Organization (ICAO) secretariat considered aircraft noise as the most significant cause of adverse community reaction relating to the operation and expansion of airports. This is expected to remain the case in most regions of …

Exploration Of Perceived Stressors Coping And Communication In Law-Enforcement Couples, Pamela J. Fackina

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Improved Constrained Global Optimization For Estimating Molecular Structure From Atomic Distances, Terri Marie Grant

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

Determination of molecular structure is commonly posed as a nonlinear optimization problem. The objective functions rely on a vast amount of structural data. As a result, the objective functions are most often nonconvex, nonsmooth, and possess many local minima. Furthermore, introduction of additional structural data into the objective function creates barriers in finding the global minimum, causes additional computational issues associated with evaluating the function, and makes physical constraint enforcement intractable. To combat the computational problems associated with standard nonlinear optimization formulations, Williams et al. (2001) proposed an atom-based optimization, referred to as GNOMAD, which complements a simple interatomic distance …

Subcellular Localization Of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Tax Oncoprotein, Kimberly Anne Fryrear

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) is a transforming retrovirus that gives rise to Adult T-cell Leukemia (ATL) and a variety of other subneoplastic conditions such as HTLV-Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraperesis (HAM/TSP). In ATL, the transformation and immortalization of T-lymphocytes has been attributed to the expression and activity of a single HTLV-1 viral protein, namely the trans-activating protein Tax. Although the exact mechanism of Tax-mediated transformation is uncertain, current studies support a model in which Tax induces genomic instability in the host cell through interference with DNA repair mechanisms, dysregulation of cell cycle progression, transcriptional activation of cellular …

Self-Determination Theory And Applications To Physical Education And Coaching, Eric Wayne Crandall

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Nonlinear Random Response Of Large-Scale Sparse Finite Element Plate Bending Problems, Swati Chokshi

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Acoustic fatigue is one of the major design considerations for skin panels exposed to high levels of random pressure at subsonic/supersonic/hypersonic speeds. The nonlinear large deflection random response of the single-bay panels aerospace structures subjected to random excitations at various sound pressure levels (SPLs) is investigated. The nonlinear responses of plate analyses are limited to determine the root-mean-square displacement under uniformly distributed pressure random loads. Efficient computational technologies like sparse storage schemes and parallel computation are proposed and incorporated to solve large-scale, nonlinear large deflection random vibration problems for both types of loading cases: (1) synchronized in time and (2) …

Social-Cognitive Biases In Simulated Airline Luggage Screening, Jeremy R. Brown

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The study examined the role that social-cognitive biases play in decision making processes during airline luggage screening, Participants (n = 96) performed a computer simulated task where they tried to detect hidden weapons in 200 x-ray images of passenger luggage. Participants saw each luggage image for either two seconds (high time pressure) or six seconds (low time pressure). In addition, on each trial, participants observed the pictures of the "passenger" to whom the luggage purportedly belongs. The "pre-anchor group" answered questions about the passenger before the luggage image appears, the "post-anchor" group answered questions after the luggage appears, and the …

School District Budgeting In The Era Of Increased Accountability And No Child Left Behind: A Mixed Methods Case Study Of School District Budgeting Processes And The Correlation To Student Achievement, Scott Alan Burckbuchler

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

School district budgeting decisions take on added significance in light of fulfilling the objectives of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). If NCLB's goal of 100% student proficiency by 2014 is to be realized, school districts, as part of their improvement plans, need to focus on how to ensure that appropriate resources are available to fund proven instructional strategies which produce results. Budgeting merges resources and results. This study examines school district budgeting processes in light of NCLB. Overall, it appears that, in the school districts represented, budgeting practices have changed since the introduction of NCLB. More specifically, there has …

Effects Of Leader Relationship Quality (Lmx), Supervisor Support, And Upward Influence In National Science Foundation Industry /University Cooperative Research Centers, Janet L. Bryant

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) is a type of partnership between industries and universities supported by the National Science Foundation. These partnerships enable the transfer of leading-edge technology developed in universities to industrial firms. Leadership plays a powerful role in the success of these research partnerships by creating an environment that is conducive to innovation. Directors of I/UCRCs must be able to successfully lead upward, that is, develop and maintain strong relationships with the university administrators to whom they report, to obtain the necessary support to sustain the center and foster innovation. This study uses leader-member exchange (LMX) theory …

Design Of A High-Speed Architecture For Stabilization Of Video Captured Under Non-Uniform Lighting Conditions, Ming Zhu Zhang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Video captured in shaky conditions may lead to vibrations. A robust algorithm to immobilize the video by compensating for the vibrations from physical settings of the camera is presented in this dissertation. A very high performance hardware architecture on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology is also developed for the implementation of the stabilization system. Stabilization of video sequences captured under non-uniform lighting conditions begins with a nonlinear enhancement process. This improves the visibility of the scene captured from physical sensing devices which have limited dynamic range. This physical limitation causes the saturated region of the image to shadow out …

Aging Effects On The Transcription Of Differentially Impaired Dysarthric Speech, Molly Anne Duggan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Thirty participants transcribed 60 words and 30 sentences spoken by persons with dysarthria. Participants, all aged 65 and older were divided into three age groups: Young-Old, Middle-Old, and Old-Old. Each group was comprised of 10 participants. Stimuli were recorded by two male speakers with differing severity levels of dysarthria. Results suggested age did affect the transcription scores, as the Young-Old participants were able to transcribe words and sentences with greater accuracy than the Old-Old participants. The severity of the dysarthric speaker also affected the accuracy of participants in transcribing their words and sentences. Utterances produced by the speaker with mild …