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What Methods Have Been Used To Help Narrow The Achievement Gap Between African-American Students And White Students?, Cindra L. Landau

Graduate Research Papers

The research in this paper provides an overview and analysis of the problems in our nations' schools pertaining to the achievement gap between African-American students and White students, and what interventions and/or supports that have been found to start narrowing this gap. The analysis is based on educational journals, books and my own personal experiences from the stand point of teaching in a school with 60% African-American students. It will reveal some of the factors that may contribute to the achievement gap between African-American and White students, as well as teacher/student relations, classroom management and high/low teacher expectations, parent/teacher relations, …

Meeting Academic Needs Through Explicit Vocabulary Insturction, Ann D. M. Langenfeld

Graduate Research Papers

This project focused on meeting the academic needs of students through explicit vocabulary instruction. The project consisted of nine professional development sessions delivered over one academic year and targeted reading teachers and Language Arts Resource Specialists (LARS) in a Midwestern suburban school district. Participants engaged in collaborative and interactive sessions that included colleague visits to aide in implementation of at least one method of explicit vocabulary instruction. Through a series of two different questionnaires, participant responses were used to assess background knowledge, teacher beliefs and practices, teacher perceptions, implementation, and relevance regarding explicit vocabulary instruction.

The Importance Of Differentiation For The Struggling Reader, Christine M. Troyer

Graduate Research Papers

Learning to read is a journey, and the first steps of this journey are among the most important. It is critical for struggling readers to have support and encouragement as they overcome the various obstacles they face. Not all young readers have the same background knowledge and sufficient skills to be proficient. Teachers play a vital role in supporting these students. First grade especially is a critical step on this path. A poor reader will continue to struggle and lose interest without the necessary guidance. This paper will detail the necessity of assisting the struggling reader in the first grade …

Proceedings Of The 121st Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2009], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Welcome from our Campus Host --- 3
Program Summary/Timeline --- 4
General Session Presentations --- 6
Symposia Presentations --- 9
Special Events --- 12
Awards Luncheon --- 13
President's Banquet --- 13
ESTA Awards Banquet --- 13
IAS Annual Business Meeting --- 14
Iowa Junior Academy of Science --- 16
Field Trips --- 17
Senior Poster Program --- 19
Section Meeting Programs and Oral Presentations (Alphabetical by Section) --- 24
Abstracts (by Section) --- 31
Author Index --- 65

Multicast Encryption Infrastructure For Security In Sensor Networks, Richard R. Brooks, Brijesh Pillai, Matthew Pirretti, Michele C. Weigle

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Designing secure sensor networks is difficult. We propose an approach that uses multicast communications and requires fewer encryptions than pairwise communications. The network is partitioned into multicast regions; each region is managed by a sensor node chosen to act as a keyserver. The keyservers solicit nodes in their neighborhood to join the local multicast tree. The keyserver generates a binary tree of keys to maintain communication within the multicast region using a shared key. Our approach supports a distributed key agreement protocol that identifies the compromised keys and supports membership changes with minimum system overhead. We evaluate the overhead of …

Merge Over Move And The Extended Projection Principle: Mom And The Epp Revisited, Juan Carlos Castillo, John E. Drury, Kleanthes K. Grohmann

Faculty Publications

A class of proposals are examined that aim to avoid problems that arise in various instantiations of the ‘Merge over Move’ (MOM) cost-ofoperation distinction. It is concluded that while the mechanisms introduced there exhibit independently interesting features, they subtract substantially from the interest of the MOM economy of derivation explanations. The removal of an assumption will then be considered that makes the core cases involving there-constructions a problem to begin with: that non-finite T must host a specifier position (checking an EPP/D-feature). Denying the existence of such features removes the problem that the MOM distinction was introduced to solve, allowing …

Enforcing Human Rights In U.S. Courts And Abroad: The Alien Tort Statute And Other Approaches, John B. Bellinger, Iii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

U.S. foreign policy--under every Administration--involves promoting respect for human rights around the world. Most of you probably know that the State Department spends a great deal of time and effort abroad, persuading foreign governments to change their human rights behavior and administering programs to advance the cause of human rights. What many of you may not be aware of, though, is that we are now quite frequently occupied "domestically" with suits by foreign plaintiffs in U.S. courts--often arising from conduct that occurred in other countries and has no significant connection to the U.S., that may not be consistent with our …

Avoid Or Compensate? Liability For Incidental Injury To Civilians Inflicted During Armed Conflict, Yael Ronen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Under international law, civilians suffering injuries that are incidental to a lawful attack on a military objective are left to bear the cost of their losses. In recent years there have been calls for a change in policy that would entitle victims of military attacks to compensation, even if their losses are incidental and non-fault-based. This Article explores the notion of such a quasi-strict liability rule, which is likely to disrupt the existing balance of powers and interests under the laws of armed conflict. Following an exploration of the conceptual basis for such an obligation, the Article examines the effect …

The Kosovo Crisis: A Dostoievskian Dialogue On International Law, Statecraft, And Soulcraft, Robert J. Delahunty, Antonio F. Perez

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The secession of Kosovo from Serbia in February 2008 represents a stage in the unfolding of a revolution of "constitutional" dimensions in international law that began with NATO's 1999 intervention in Kosovo. NATO'S intervention called into question the authority and viability of the UN Charter system for maintaining international peace. Likewise, the West's decision in 2008 to support Kosovo's secession from Serbia dealt another blow to the post-War legal rules and institutions for controlling and mitigating great power rivalry. Russia's later support for South Ossetia's secession from Georgia demonstrated the potential that the Kosovo precedent has for destabilizing the international …

You Get What You Pay For?: Rethinking U.S. Organ Procurement Policy In Light Of Foreign Models, J. Andrew Hughes

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The U.S. organ transplant system is in crisis due to the paucity of transplantable organs. Such a shortage exists because otherwise viable organs are too often buried along with the bodies in which they reside. Organs are wasted because the existing U.S. organ transplant system sets up barriers to organ donation--chiefly the legal presumption of unwillingness to donate ("voluntary donation') and the National Organ Transplant Act's ban on the transfer of organs for valuable consideration. This Note surveys the qualified successes of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, and France with their various "presumed consent" models of organ procurement. It also considers other …

A Theory Of Wto Adjudication: From Empirical Analysis To Biased Rule Development, Juscelino F. Colares

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The positive theory of litigation predicts that, under certain conditions, plaintiffs and defendants achieve an unremarkable and roughly equivalent share of litigation success. This Article, grounded in an empirical analysis of WTO adjudication from 1995 through 2007, reveals a high disparity between Complainant and Respondent success rates: Complainants win roughly ninety percent of the disputes. This disparity transcends Case Type, Party Identity, Income Level, and other litigant-specific characteristics. After analyzing and discarding standard empirical and theoretical alternative explanations for the systematic disparity in success rates, this study demonstrates, through an examination of patterns in WTO adjudicators' notorious decisions, that biased …

The Millennium Challenge Account: Influencing Governance In Developing Countries Through Performance-Based Foreign Aid, Rebecca Stubbs

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United States actively impacts the legal and political environments of developing countries through the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). This new approach to foreign development aid presents both an incredible opportunity to encourage good governance as well as a serious danger of U.S. political agendas manipulating foreign aid to serve partisan interests. The MCA should seek to develop a nonpartisan strategy and focus primarily on pure rule of law, governance, and political freedom indicators and programming in order to maintain its current successes in improving the legal and policy environment of developing countries competing for MCA funding.

The direction and …

Striking A Sensible Balance On The Legality Of Defensive First Strikes, David A. Sadoff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article seeks to develop a clear and sensible legal standard governing defensive first strikes writ large in inter-state conflicts. Imprecise or improperly gauged legal parameters can contribute to an increased risk of hostilities, whether due to abuse, error, or even reasoned calculation. The implications of such conduct for states and their populations alike can be enormous. Although many proposals posit constructive guideposts for such a standard, they tend to be either abstract in structure or limited in material application. This Article sets forth a legal standard that aims to be simultaneously systematic in approach, comprehensive in scope, and functional …

Treaty Bodies And The Interpretation Of Human Rights, Kerstin Mechlem

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The eight United Nations human rights treaty bodies play an important role in establishing the normative content of human rights and in giving concrete meaning to individual rights and state obligations. Unfortunately, their output often suffers from methodological weaknesses and lack of coherence and analytical rigor, which compromise its legitimacy.

This Article suggests that these deficits could in large part be addressed if the committees applied the customary legal rules of interpretation codified in Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna Convention), which requires attention to the text, context, and object and purpose …

International Legal Responses To Kosovo's Declaration Of Independence, Jure Vidmar

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared independence. As of March 6, 2009, fifty-six states have recognized Kosovo's independence, while a number of states maintain that Kosovo's declaration of independence is illegal. There is no specific resolution calling for nonrecognition, yet whether an obligation of nonrecognition stems from UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is a highly disputed issue.

Resolution 1244 established an international territorial administration, affirmed Serbia's territorial integrity, and called for a political process leading to settlement of Kosovo's future status. Unlike in East Timor, the political process in Kosovo did not result in a prenegotiated path to independence, confirmed …

Targeting Enemy Forces In The War On Terror: Preserving Civilian Immunity, Richard D. Rosen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the interpretation given to it by many in the international community (e.g., UN, NGOs, media) provide perverse incentives to terrorist and insurgent groups to shield their military activities behind civilians and their property. In other words, the law governing targeting is fundamentally defective; it allows terrorist and insurgent groups to gain strategic and tactical advantages through their own noncompliance with the law and their adversaries' observance of it. The consequence has been increasing noncompliance with the law and growing civilian casualties. This Article proposes structural changes to the law governing targeting …

The Emperor Is Still Naked: Why The Protocol On The Rights Of Women In Africa Leaves Women Exposed To More Discrimination, Kristin Davis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa entered into force in 2005. Met with much celebration for the protection it would provide African women, the Protocol was heralded as one of the most forward-looking human rights instruments. Now, fifteen years after it was conceived, the Protocol deserves a full assessment of the issues that it has faced in accession and will face in implementation. This Note analyzes the way in which the Protocol was developed and the effect the Protocol's language will have on its ability to achieve its …

Replacing Slingshots With Swords: Implications Of The Antigua-Gambling 22.6 Panel Report For Developing Countries And The World Trading System, Georgia Hamann

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In December 2007, the WTO awarded Antigua the right to suspend TRIPS obligations at a value of $21 million. This decision represents the WTO's continuing evolution into a body capable of addressing the concerns of developed countries while balancing the legitimate interests of developed nations. For the second time, the WTO has authorized suspension of intellectual property protection under the TRIPS agreement. Such a remedy, if widely adopted, has the capacity to address concerns surrounding effective retaliation by small economies versus large economies, which traditionally have discouraged developing countries from participating in WTO dispute resolution. Additionally, the remedy seems likely …

The Arctic: An Opportunity To Cooperate And Demonstrate Statesmanship, Dr. Hans Corell

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Article discusses in four distinct parts disputes relating to maritime boundaries in the Arctic; "gaps" in the legal regime in the Arctic; environmental and security concerns; and the administration of the Arctic.

Regarding the first item, the Article maintains that the point of departure is that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea applies also in the Arctic. Overlapping claims by the coastal states are perfectly legitimate and thus should not be dramatized. What matters is how such differences are resolved.

Referring to suggestions that there are "gaps" in the Arctic legal regime and that a …

Arctic Warming: Environmental, Human, And Security Implications, Mary B. West

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Arctic warming has myriad implications for the Arctic environment, residents, and nations. Although definitive predictions are difficult, without question the scope and rapidity of change will test the adaptive capacities of the Arctic environment as well as its residents. Warming is affecting marine ecosystems and marine life, terrestrial ecosystems, and the animals and people who depend on them. Human impacts include effects on access to food and resources; health and well being; and community cohesion, traditions, and culture. Increased shipping and resource activity create the need for additional maritime presence and security; better environmental and safety regulations; peaceful resolution of …

Judicial And Arbitral Proceedings And The Outer Limits Of The Continental Shelf, John E. Noyes

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article explores when international third-party dispute settlement forums may hear cases concerning the outer limits of a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from baselines. The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea articulated determinate rules for establishing those limits and created an institution--the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf--to make recommendations concerning them. Limits set by coastal states "on the basis of" such recommendations "shall be final and binding." Yet the Law of the Sea Convention's third-party dispute settlement system may also apply to outer limits questions concerning the Arctic Ocean and other oceans.

International …

International Security And International Law In The Northwest Passage, James Kraska

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Concern over the loss of sea ice has renewed discussions over the legal status of the Arctic and subarctic transcontinental maritime route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, referred to as the "Northwest Passage." Over the past thirty years, Canada has maintained that the waters of the Passage are some combination of internal waters or territorial seas. Applying the rules of international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, suggests that the Passage is a strait used for international navigation. Expressing concerns over maritime safety and security, recognition of northern sovereignty, and protection of …

Who Controls The Northwest Passage?, Michael Byers, Suzanne Lalonde

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

From Martin Frobisher in 1576 to John Franklin in 1845, generations of European explorers searched for a navigable route through the Arctic islands to Asia. Their greatest challenge was sea-ice, which has almost always filled the straits, even in summer. Climate change, however, is fundamentally altering the sea-ice conditions: In September 2007, the Northwest Passage was ice-free for the first time in recorded history. This Article reviews the consequences of this development, particularly in terms of the security and environmental risks that would result from international shipping along North America's longest coast. It analyzes the differing positions of Canada and …

Treason In The Age Of Terrorism: An Explanation And Evaluation Of Treason's Return In Democratic States, Kristen E. Eichensehr

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Treason is an ancient crime, but it fell into disuse in most Western democratic states after World War I. Now it is making a comeback with prosecutions or threatened prosecutions against a new type of enemy--accused terrorists--in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel. In the postwar period, commentators wrongly argued that treason would no longer be prosecuted because it is antiliberal, too difficult to prove, unnecessary because modern democracies are stable and secure, and premised on an extinct sense of loyalty to the state. This Article begins by debunking these claims and explaining treason's recent reappearance. First, democratic …

Nafta Cross-Border Trucking: Mexico Retaliates After Congress Stops Mexican Trucks At The Border, Chad Macdonald

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entitles Mexican tractor-trailers to enter the U.S. to deliver cargo from Mexico. In spite of NAFTA, the U.S. has only allowed Mexican trucks to operate in the U.S. during a controversial demonstration project that granted U.S. operating licenses to a select number of Mexican trucks during the Bush administration. The dispute over NAFTA's cross-border trucking provisions climaxed on March 16, 2009, when Mexico imposed $2.4 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports in response to U.S. noncompliance.

This Note chronicles the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking dispute and argues that the U.S. should re-start a …

"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 …

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 …