Digital Commons Network^™

"Shelter Chic": Can The U.S. Government Make It Work?, Kristina R. Montanaro

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note discusses government donations of seized counterfeit goods to charitable institutions and the implications of these practices. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) contributions to the Red Cross for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort serve as a backdrop for important concepts. In making these contributions, the CBP relied on its emergency authority and a presidential proclamation to avoid basic statutory requirements that it (a) obtain consent from the right holders and (b) de-trademark counterfeit goods prior to donation. While the donations inarguably benefitted countless disaster victims and freed up valuable CBP warehouse space, they may have had a detrimental …

The Crisis Of International Law, Rafael Domingo

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article delves into the reasons for the current crisis in the traditional international law system, considering how the system developed through the centuries in order to respond to the needs and circumstances of past historical epochs, as well as how the system is no longer capable of meeting the unique developments and needs of life in the Third Millennium. The Article considers the fundamental problems of a state-based system of international law that--rather than focusing on the prime actor and focus of the law, the human person, and his inherent dignity--concentrates on and gives enormous power to the artificial …

Measurement Of The Charm Fragmentation Function In D* Photoproduction At Hera, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, S. Magill, B. Musgrave, D. Nicholass, J. Repond, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, F. Cindolo, M. Corradi, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, R. Nania, A. Polini, S. Antonelli, M. Basile, M. Bindi, L. Cifarelli, A. Contin, S. De Pasquale, G. Sartorelli, A. Zichichi, D. Bartsch, I. Brock, H. Hartmann

Faculty Publications

The charm fragmentation function has been measured in D* photoproduction with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 120 pb-1. The fragmentation function is measured versus z = (E +p||)D* /2Ejet, where E is the energy of the D * meson and p|| is the longitudinal momentum of the D * meson relative to the axis of the associated jet of energy Ejet. Jets were reconstructed using the kT clustering algorithm and required to have transverse energy larger than 9GeV. The D* meson associated with the jet was required to have a transverse momentum larger than 2GeV. …

Finding The ‘World’ In Biblical Studies: God-Talk, Culture, And Hermeneutics In The Study (And Teaching) Of Faith, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring Accounting Fraud In The Subsidiary Environment, Carmelita J. Troy, Madeline Ann Domino, Steven P. Landry

Faculty Publications

This research explores accounting fraud in the subsidiary environment. Utilizing institutional theory, we propose that the subsidiary environment provides an opportune setting and vehicle for individuals to commit accounting fraud. While a growing body of literature exists on accounting fraud, minimal work has focused on the role of the subsidiary in accounting fraud, as reported by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We sample companies for which the SEC has documented accounting fraud in their enforcement releases. We then analyze the related SEC documents to determine to what extent, if any, a subsidiary is involved in the accounting fraud. Our …

Eu Law, International Law And Economic Sanctions Against Terrorism: The Judiciary In Distress?, P. Takis Tridimas

Faculty Scholarship

This article seeks to examine the relationship between European Union law, international law, and the protection of fundamental rights in the light of recent case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Court of First Instance (CFI) relating to economic sanctions against individuals. On 3 September 2008, the ECJ delivered its long-awaited judgment in Kadi and Al Barakaat on appeal from the CFI. In its judgment under appeal, the CFI had held that the European Community (EC) is competent to adopt regulations imposing economic sanctions against private organizations in pursuance of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions seeking …

Source Memory In Social Contexts, Bianca Basten

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Source memory is memory for where, when, how, and from whom information was received. Current source memory literature focuses mainly on memory for incidental information: i.e., where, when, how) rather than source identity: i.e., who). This dissertation addressed the role of source memory in social contexts and memory for source identity. Four experiments were designed to investigate the effects of information valence, target familiarity, and source congruence. 120 participants viewed a series of negative and positive statements about two targets provided by four sources and were later asked to identify the source of the information. Targets were considered positive and …

Courts, Clergy, And Congregations: Disputes Between Religious Institutions And Their Leaders, Ira C. Lupu, Robert W. Tuttle

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

For nearly forty years, the courts have barred a variety of lawsuits by clergy against their religious entity-employers. These suits frequently involve matters of civil rights, such as sex-based discrimination in employment, but they also involve claims of defamation, violation of fair labor standards, and breach of employment contracts, among others. To justify the barriers to these suits, courts typically rely on concepts drawn from the First Amendment's Religion Clauses. In particular, courts frequently invoke theories of free exercise of religion by religious institutions, or notions of "excessive entanglement" between church and state, to justify this line of case law. …

The Transformation Of Originality In The Progressive-Era Debate Over Copyright In News, Robert Brauneis

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In the 1991 case of Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc., the Supreme Court held unanimously that only those aspects of works which exhibited a "modicum of creativity" could be protected by copyright, and hence that factual matter was not copyrightable. Feist confirmed and expanded on the Court's statements in the 1918 case of International News Service v. Associated Press that news was not copyrightable apart from its literary form. Yet for the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, the notion that copyright incorporated an originality requirement which excluded factual matter from protection was unknown to Anglo-American …

What Do We Owe Future Generations?, Neil H. Buchanan

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In the United States, it is common for legal scholars, economists, politicians and others to claim that we are selfishly harming "our children and grandchildren" by (among many other things) running large government budget deficits. This article first asks two broad questions: (1) Do we owe future generations anything at all as a philosophical matter? and (2) If we do owe something to future generations, how should we balance their interests against our own? The short answers are "Probably" and "We really are not sure."

Finding only general answers to these general questions, I then look specifically at U.S. fiscal …

Expression Analysis And Stem Cell Engineering, Cara Rieger

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The overall goal of the thesis was to develop tools to advance Investigations of stem cells in tissue engineering therapeutics for neurodegenerative disease and spinal cord injury. Two tools to characterize cell fate and a tool to separate a subset of neural cells were developed and evaluated. In the first study, a digital PCR technology, called polonies, was applied to measure mRNA from several key stem cell genes in small numbers of ES cells. Due to its properties, we hypothesized that polonies would be uniquely poised to profile stem cells. Polonies were counted for Oct3 in a sample of 10 …

Development And Implementation Of Fully 3d Statistical Image Reconstruction Algorithms For Helical Ct And Half-Ring Pet Insert System, Daniel Keesing

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

X-ray computed tomography: CT) and positron emission tomography: PET) have become widely used imaging modalities for screening, diagnosis, and image-guided treatment planning. Along with the increased clinical use are increased demands for high image quality with reduced ionizing radiation dose to the patient. Despite their significantly high computational cost, statistical iterative reconstruction algorithms are known to reconstruct high-quality images from noisy tomographic datasets. The overall goal of this work is to design statistical reconstruction software for clinical x-ray CT scanners, and for a novel PET system that utilizes high-resolution detectors within the field of view of a whole-body PET scanner. …

Oxygen-Enhanced Combustion: Theory And Applications, Scott Skeen

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

In the broadest sense, oxygen-enhanced combustion: OEC) refers to the use of oxygen to improve combustion and/or process characteristics. When a stream of oxygen is available, a wide range of flame configurations is possible. This work considers two specific configurations of OEC and is divided into two parts. In Part I, fundamental experimental and numerical flame studies explore the combustion of gaseous fuel/inert mixtures in oxygen-enriched air or pure oxygen under well-defined conditions. Part II targets a more practical application by considering the combustion of solid fuels in a variety of oxygen/carbon dioxide mixing scenarios. For gaseous non-premixed flames, combining …

Open Collaborative Mechanical / Product Design - User As Developer A New Design Methodology For Internet Era Business Innovations And Entrepreneurship, Jing Zheng

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

In product design and development projects, the most important part is identifying user needs. Traditional methods such as surveys, focus group studies and interviews are expensive and sometime inaccurate in identifying those needs. Inspired by the open source software development, along with the research that has been done on the "lead user" method, the method of using collective customer wisdom to modify old products or even develop new products has become an emerging new design method and is starting to get popularity and success. However, the effectiveness of such method comparing to the traditional face to face "close" development method …

Electrocorticographic Neural Correlates Of Arm Movements And Associated Goal Orientation In Humans, Nicholas Anderson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This thesis analyzed the cortical representation of arm kinematics, target encoding, and goal encoding using subdural electrocorticographic: ECoG) recordings in humans. Using a joystick-based visuomotor task, subjects performed both a standard, delayed match-to-sample center-out task as well as a circular tracing task. Spectral analyses of the ECoG signals clearly showed significant cosine tuning for hand velocity, direction, position and speed throughout the cortex. In particular, velocity tuning was best represented spectrally in a high gamma band from around 90-150 Hz in the primary motor cortical regions. In dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: DLPFC), cortical activity in the 150-250 Hz band of the …

Who Uses Community-Based Youth Shelters? An Inter-Group And Intra-Group Analysis, Jennifer Mcclendon

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Community-based youth shelters are the primary method of intervention designed to meet the complex needs of at-risk youth who leave home before they have developed the skills to live independently. This research examines shelter users' patterns of cross-sector service use to better understand the needs and resources of shelter residents. The aims of this study are 1) to perform an inter-group analysis, comparing sheltered youth with status offense runaways and foster care runaways, and 2) to explore the population of emergency shelter residents using an intra-group analysis, determining whether distinct profiles of sheltered youth exist, based on individual characteristics and …

Associative Memory Processes In Schizophrenia, Aaron Bonner-Jackson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Individuals with schizophrenia demonstrate cognitive deficits in a number of domains, including episodic memory: EM). Memory for both individual items and associations between items is impaired in schizophrenia, with some indication of a more severe deficit in associative memory. Furthermore, such memory impairments have been consistently linked with abnormalities in brain activation during both encoding and retrieval. However, certain experimental manipulations at the encoding and retrieval stages of EM significantly benefit memory performance in schizophrenia, suggesting that a strategic processing deficit may underlie memory impairment in schizophrenia. Additionally, the provision of beneficial encoding strategies increases encoding-related brain activity in key …

Discovery Of A Novel Metalloregular Family: Structure/Function Studies Of E. Coli Rcnr, Jeffrey Iwig

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The first row transition metal ions- Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn are vital cofactors for proteins involved in diverse processes including photosynthesis, oxidative respiration and protein translation. Despite these essential functions, excess metal ions can lead to cell death through the generation of oxidative damage or the occupation of non-native metal sites. Acquiring metal ions from the environment while limiting possible toxic effects requires the coordinated regulation of metal uptake, trafficking and efflux, which in bacteria is often carried out by metal-responsive transcription factors: metalloregulators). Nickel homeostasis in E. coli is an ideal model system for understanding the …

Developing New Methodologies For Crosslinked Polymeric Nanostructure Syntheses, Chemoselective Modifications, And Applications As Imaging And Delivery Agents, Guorong Sun

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The overall emphasis of this dissertation research includes the syntheses of amphiphilic block copolymers bearing functional groups through controlled radical polymerization techniques, followed by the aqueous assembly of these block copolymer precursors to construct polymeric nanostructures with different sizes and morphologies. Further chemical modification of the nanostructures afforded functional crosslinked nano-objects with reporting probes for imaging and biocompatible "stealth" materials for tuning the in vivo fate of nanostructures. Amphiphilic block copolymers poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene: PAA-b-PS) with well-defined structures were prepared through nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization: NMP). Using novel pre-functionalization strategies, these block copolymer precursors were functionalized with DOTA for chelating 64Cu and …

The Effect Of Limb Movement On The Lumbopelvic Region In People With Low Back Pain, Sara Scholtes

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Low back pain: LBP) affects up to 80% of the population at some point in their lifetime. Several models have been proposed to explain the persistent and recurrent course of LBP. In particular, the Movement System Impairment model proposes that lumbopelvic motion that begins soon after the start of an active movement is important to LBP because of its potential contribution to increased frequency of lumbopelvic motion across the day. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine aspects of this model, focusing specifically on lumbopelvic motion during limb movements. In Chapter 2, we examine whether men and women with …

Development Of Shell-Crosslinked Knedel-Like Nanoparticles As Intracellular Delivery Vehicles And Gene Regulation Agents, Ke Zhang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation focuses on the development of polymer-based nanomaterials, termed shell-crosslinked knedel-like: SCK) nanoparticles, as vehicles to carry specific guest molecules or guest structures into the cell. Detailed synthetic procedures for and characterization of well-defined block copolymers, as well as the nanostructures resulted from their self-assembly are reported. The nanoparticles exhibited different but controlled sizes and shapes, depending on the conditions for their preparation. To incorporate functionality into these materials, both pre- and post-particle functionalization methods, as well as their combination, were used. The nanostructures involved in this dissertation include protein transduction domain: PTD)-functionalized SCK, folate-functionalized SCK and cationic SCK: …

Professional Malpractice In A World Of Amateurs, Thomas D. Morgan

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

An increasing number of tasks once reserved to lawyers are now being performed by non-lawyers. That reality seems likely to continue. The question then becomes against what standard of performance such “amateur” practice should be assessed. One answer might be that a non-lawyer should be guilty of malpractice if the work is performed below the level of quality to which a lawyer would be held. This paper argues that the work should instead be judged against the standard of performance the non-lawyer purported to be able to deliver.

Saving The Unitary Executive Theory From Those Who Would Distort And Abuse It: A Review Of The Unitary Executive, By Steven G. Calabresi And Christopher Yoo, Richard J. Pierce Jr

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Calabresi and Yoo make three important contributions to the literature on separation of powers in their new book. First, they seek to rescue the unitary executive theory from the Bush Administration lawyers who have discredited the theory in the eyes of many by relying on it to support outlandish claims of presidential power that are unrelated to the unitary executive theory. Second, they make a persuasive case for the unitary executive theory by explaining why a president must have the power to remove executive branch officers and to control policy making in the executive branch. Third, they document the ways …

Making Sense Of Procedural Injury, Richard J. Pierce Jr

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This essay uses the Supreme Court’s 2009 opinion describing the version of the harmless error rule courts must use in administrative law cases as a point of entry in attempting to understand the Court’s 1992 opinion recognizing that 'procedural rights are special' for standing purposes. It concludes that courts should apply an easy-to-meet plausibility test in determining whether an agency’s refusal to provide a procedure required by statute or by the constitution has a causal relationship with the challenged agency action sufficient to allow the petitioner to obtain review of the action based on a procedural injury theory. Such a …

A Terminological Matter: Paragenesis, Antigravitative Erosion Or Antigravitational Erosion?, Giancarlo Pasini

International Journal of Speleology

In the speleological literature three terms are utilized to designate the “ascending erosion”: paragenesis (= paragénésis, coined in 1968), antigravitative erosion (= erosione antigravitativa, coined in 1966) and antigravitational erosion (wrong English translation of the Italian term erosione antigravitativa, utilized later on). The term paragenesis should be abandoned because of the priority of the term erosione antigravitativa - on the ground of the “law of priority” – and because of its ambiguous etimology. On the other hand, the term antigravitational erosion should be forsaken in favour of the term antigravitative erosion, given the meaning that the terms gravitation and gravity …

Measurement Of Beauty Photoproduction Using Decays Into Muons In Dijet Events At Hera, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, S. Magill, B. Musgrave, D. Nicholass, J. Repond, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, F. Cindolo, M. Corradi, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, R. Nania, A. Polini, S. Antonelli, M. Basile, M. Bindi, L. Cifarelli, A. Contin, S. De Pasquale, G. Sartorelli, A. Zichichi, D. Bartsch, I. Brock, H. Hartmann

Faculty Publications

Beauty photoproduction in dijet events has been measured at HERA with the ZEUS detector using an integrated luminosity of 126 pb-1. Beauty was identified in events with a muon in the final state by using the transverse momentum of the muon relative to the closest jet. Lifetime information from the silicon vertex detector was also used; the impact parameter of the muon with respect to the primary vertex was exploited to discriminate between signal and background. Cross sections for beauty production as a function of the muon and the jet variables as well as dijet correlations are compared to QCD …

Investigating The Relationship Between Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs In Mathematics And Teacher Reflection: Do Teacher Thinking Dispositions Play A Moderating Role?, Shawna Hufendick

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Previous research has shown a relationship between teacher reflection and teacher acceptance of reform curricula. This study looked at the relationship between the variables of teacher self efficacy and teacher reflection, as they might relate to teacher attitudes towards instructional change. This study also looked at whether teacher thinking dispositions moderate this relationship. First and second grade teachers (N=l6) participating in a professional development opportunity in mathematics completed an efficacy measure, a thinking dispositions measure, and kept a journal to reflect after mathematics lessons taught. The teacher efficacy, thinking disposition, and journal reflection data was analyzed to see whether relationships …

Analysis Of Factors Causing Failure Mode For Automotive Hitch Control System Calibration In Agriculture Equipment, Setordji Yao Abotsi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Traditionally, agricultural tractors have used hydro-mechanical draft control systems to mechanically sense implement draft. Technological development of low cost, reliable microprocessors has contributed to allowing greater flexibility in designing agricultural tractor control systems (Rutkowski & Welchens, 1986). To successfully control the depth of which an implement penetrates the ground, it has become imperative to incorporate a draft control system on agricultural tractors. The control system operates by responding to the draft load or force acting on the tractor. Increasing the draft load or force allows the implement to be raised and decreasing the draft load or force allows the implement …

The Effects Of Indian-Accented English And Need For Cognition On Message Evaluation: A Field Study, Duoc V. Nguyen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research has shown that Americans rate non-accented English speakers more favorably than accented English speakers (e.g., Cargile & Giles, 1997; Frumkin, 2007); however this is not always the case ( e.g., Cargile, 2000; Singer & Eder, 1988). Other factors may be involved when people are processing other people's messages. One motivating factor may be the extent to which people like to think, or have a high need for cognition (NCS; Cacioppo & Petty, 1982). As call center jobs continue to be outsourced to other countries such as India, it is important to ascertain how people with varying degrees of motivation …

A Case Study Of A Rural Iowa School Preparing To Meet New State Guidelines For School Libraries, Karla Steege Krueger

Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications

A qualitative case study highlighting one rural Iowa elementary school provided insight into the issue of small schools without library programs as they are preparing to meet the Iowa reinstatement of the requirement for school library programs. The site was purposefully chosen because it has been operating without a school library program or professional teacher-librarian district-wide. All eight teachers and the nonendorsed library associate from one elementary school participated in either a focus group or semistructured interviews. The four district administrators were interviewed individually. Related documents were consulted. This study examined the status of the school library program, analyzed the …