Digital Commons Network^™

The Social Psychological Dimensions Of Us-Iranian Relations, Mariah Levison

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

I argue that the material and strategic factors underlying the US-Iranian relationship do not add up to the actual level of conflict between the parties and that a social-psychological analysis can explain why there is so much conflict between the parties. The social-psychological perspective is a different lens than that provided by more traditional approaches to peacebuilding and can address aspects of conflict that material and strategic analyses cannot account for. Social psychology explains the subjective elements of conflict: perception, cognition, attitude, emotion, needs, and values.

Impacts Of Parental Resources On Child Educational Outcomes: Assets And Mediating Pathways, Youngmi Kim

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Scholars have begun to pay more attention to the role of parental wealth in children's educational attainment. There is still no consensus on how different types of assets contribute to children's educational outcomes. Also, asset effects on high school dropout are not examined to date, and mediating pathways of social-psychological characteristics are more investigated with educational achievement: e.g. measured by test scores, GPA) rather than educational attainment. In response to these academic gaps, this study investigates: 1) the effects of parental assets in child's educational attainment from high school dropout to college degree attainment and: 2) the mediating roles played …

Campos Magneticos De La Modernidad Latinoamericana: Una Historia Intelectual De Argentina, Brasil Y Uruguay (1900-1935), Gonzalo Aguiar Malosetti

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

My dissertation is a comparative study of different intellectual practices in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay at the turn of the 20th century. I examine the work of canonical as well as non canonical authors in order to provide a renewed critical interpretation of the output and function of intellectuals in Latin America as modernity developed in these countries. In my dissertation I refer to a common set of political as well as cultural challenges that those intellectuals, as a group and individually, underwent during their growing conflict with institutionalized powers. My reading highlights literary texts in which the idea of …

In Defense Of Transnational Domestic Labor Regulation, David J. Doorey

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Transnational domestic labor regulation (TDLR) is unilateral regulation introduced by a government to influence labor practices in foreign jurisdictions. TDLR has the potential to empower foreign workers and influence the balance of power in foreign industrial relations systems in ways that might lead to improved labor conditions. Particularly interesting is the potential for TDLR to harness or steer private labor regulation--the many non-state sources of labor practice governance already active in shaping labor conditions within global supply chains. However, whether governments should try to influence foreign labor practices at all is a controversial question. This Article explores the arguments both …

A Model Copyright Exemption To Serve The Visually Impaired, Patrick Hely

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Copyright law presents visually impaired persons with serious barriers to access of the written word. A recent international effort seeks to remove these barriers to access, in limited instances, by allowing the creation of accessible formats of copyrighted works. While bodies like the World Blind Union--through several South American states--have presented draft treaties to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to date the interested parties have not found a mutually agreeable solution. This Note surveys international intellectual property law as it relates to the problem, draws a comparison to the humanitarian concerns entangled with international patent law, and tracks the …

A World Of Possibilities: Multimodalities, Collaboration And Equity In The Composition Classroom, Anicca Cox

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In this unbound project titled, A World of Possibilities: Multimodalities, Collaboration and Equality in the Composition Classroom I have shown some of the advantages of using multimodal writing instruction. Multimodal writing instruction uses a variety of methods that move beyond written text by incorporating visual, aural, cinematic or textual features together. This project focused on presenting multimodal approaches in the context of multiliteracies in order to achieve social justice and inclusion. The project is centered on collaborative methods and examines specific multimodalities to present possible techniques for incorporating these methods in a composition classroom. The goal of the project is …

"Your Results May Vary": Protecting Students And Taxpayers Through Tighter Regulation Of Proprietary School Representations, Aaron N. Taylor

All Faculty Scholarship

This article argues for stricter regulation of proprietary (for-profit) school advertising and recruitment practices and proffers specific proposals for effectuating this regulation. Proprietary schools play an important role in broadening access to higher education. They enroll a large number of students who are underserved by traditional, non-profit institutions. These students tend to be poorer, less educated, and older than students at traditional schools, and they tend to undertake higher education for very practical reasons. These characteristics make them particularly susceptible to deceptive marketing and unfounded promises of higher education providers. Unfortunately, some proprietary schools exploit the susceptibilities of their target …

Behavioral Decision Theory And Implications For The Supreme Court’S Campaign Finance Jurisprudence, Molly J. Walker Wilson

All Faculty Scholarship

America stands at a moment in history when advances in the understanding of human decision-making are increasing the strategic efficacy of political strategy. As campaign spending for the presidential race reaches hundreds of millions of dollars, the potential for harnessing the power of psychological tactics becomes considerable. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has characterized campaign money as “speech” and has required evidence of corruption or the appearance of corruption in order to uphold restrictions on campaign expenditures. Ultimately, the Court has rejected virtually all restrictions on campaign spending on the ground that expenditures, unlike contributions, do not contribute to corruption or …

Race, Sex And Genes At Work: Uncovering The Lessons Of Norman-Bloodsaw, Elizabeth Pendo

All Faculty Scholarship

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (“GINA”) is the first federal, uniform protection against the use of genetic information in both the workplace and health insurance. Signed into law on May 21, 2008, GINA prohibits an employer or health insurer from acquiring or using an individual’s genetic information, with some exceptions. One of the goals of GINA is to eradicate actual, or perceived, discrimination based on genetic information in the workplace and in health insurance. Although the threat of genetic discrimination is often discussed in universal terms - as something that could happen to any of us - the …

International Commercial Transactions, Franchising, And Distribution, Arnold S. Rosenberg, Alfredo L. Rovira, Michael R. Daigle, Florian S. Jörg, Marc Ryser, William P. Johnson, Anders Forkman, Alan S. Gutterman, Ed., Calvin A. Hamilton, Ed.

All Faculty Scholarship

With the encouragement of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other international financial institutions, in 2008-09 several countries modernized their secured transactions laws, expanded the types of moveable property that can serve as collateral for a debt, and established and streamlined registries for non-possessory security interests in moveable property.

Becoming A Law Professor: A Candidate's Guide, Brannon P. Denning, Marcia L. Mccormick, Jeffrey M. Lipshaw

All Faculty Scholarship

This is the Table of Contents and the Introduction to a forthcoming book from the American Bar Association. The authors provide detailed advice and resources for aspiring law professors, including a description of the categories of law faculty (and what they do), possible paths to careers in the legal academy, and "how to" guides for filling out the AALS's Faculty Appointments Register, interviewing at the Faculty Recruitment Conference (the "meat market"), issues for non-traditional candidates, dealing with callbacks and job offers, and getting ready for the first semester on the job.

Human Capital And Transfer Taxation, Kerry A. Ryan

All Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses the question of whether education and healthcare transfers should be included in the federal gift tax base. It initially frames the issue in two ways: (1) through the lens of a proposal by the American Law Institute to exempt all “transfers for consumption” from gift taxation, and (2) within the context of a debate among economists about whether such expenditures should be included in the definition of “intergenerational transfers” for purposes of determining the total share of such transfers in U.S. accumulated wealth. Finding the first lens unsatisfactory on its own doctrinal terms and the second lens …

Foreign Policy Mismanagement During American Presidential Transitions, Linda Schulte

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Despite vast literature on American foreign policy and presidential decision-making, little attention has been given to the problems associated with presidential transitions. The American presidential transition period is accompanied by three limitations that threaten the effectiveness of presidential authority. First, presidential authority is unclear in the ambiguity of the transition period. Second, new administrations struggle to incorporate overlapping initiatives and personnel into new policies and priorities. Third, inexperience can cripple a new administration in the first few months of a presidency. These limitations are illustrated by an analysis of two transitional foreign policy crises: the Bay of Pigs crisis overlapping …

The Struggle For Freedom, Justice, And Equality: The History Of The Journey Of Iranian Women In The Last Century, Poupak Tafreshi

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Intramolecular Anodic Olefin Coupling Reactions: Synthesis Of Nitrogen- And Oxygen-Heterocycles, Haichao Xu

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Anodic oxidation has been shown to be a powerful method for initiating umpolung reactions that allow the coupling of two nucleophilic functional groups. Most of the work in this area concentrates on making carbon-carbon bond. Hence, the reactions are usually terminated with olefin nucleophiles. The use of heteroatom-based coupling partners to form carbon-heteroatom bond is less explored despite the wide occurrence of heterocyclic compounds as natural products, pharmaceuticals, and synthetic building blocks. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the application of heteroatom-based coupling partners in intramolecular anodic olefin coupling reactions for the synthesis of N- and O-heterocyclic compounds. First, a synthesis …

Woman's Work: Female Lighthouse Keepers In The Early Republic, 1820–1859, Virginia Neal Thomas

History Theses & Dissertations

During the Early Republic between 1820 and 1859, women, on average, comprised about five percent of the principal lighthouse keepers in the United States. These women represent a unique exception to the experience of the majority of working women during the Early Republic. They received equal pay to men, and some supervised lower-paid male assistants. They filled these predominately male positions because lighthouse work had much in common with stereotypical woman's work, they were most often related to the previous keeper, and they fit within cultural ideals of gender roles. Inquiry beyond the romantic image crafted for these light keepers …

Taking Prevention Seriously: Developing A Comprehensive Response To Child Trafficking And Sexual Exploitation, Jonathan Todres

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Millions of children are victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation each year. Governments have responded with a range of measures, focusing primarily on seeking to prosecute perpetrators of these abuses and offering assistance to select victims. These efforts, while important, have done little to reduce the incidence of these forms of child exploitation. This Article asserts that a central reason why efforts to date may not be as effective as hoped is that governments have not oriented their approaches properly toward prioritizing prevention--the ultimate goal--and addressing these problems in a comprehensive and systematic manner. Instead, efforts to date have …

The Responsibility For Post-Conflict Reforms, Dr. Eric D. Brabandere

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The increasing involvement of international actors in various forms of international missions set up to supervise reconstruction or peace-building processes has raised many questions with respect to both the legal framework applicable to such activity and the authority to engage in such reforms. Recently, new normative propositions on the subject have been labelled jus post bellum. This Article challenges the usefulness and accuracy of jus post bellum as a legal concept. Such theories either amount to an explicit or implicit challenge of the crucial objectivity of the post-conflict phase by linking the rights and obligations of foreign actors to the …

Greater Mutual Fund Transparency In India, Stephen P. Smith

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

India has been one of the darlings among emerging market economies over the past decade. It has experienced dizzying economic growth that has lifted great numbers of Indians out of poverty and changed the economic outlook of much of its populace. For the first time, many Indians have excess funds to save or invest, and the Indian mutual fund industry has enjoyed an explosion in popularity as a result of this economic boom, particularly among first time mutual fund investors.

One of the most important mechanisms for investor protection in any capital market is the provision of information to investors …

Cultivating Farmers' Rights: Reconciling Food Security, Indigenous Agriculture, And Trips, Lauren Winter

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note discusses strategies for cultivating Farmers' Rights internationally. The rise of international treaties awarding intellectual property rights in plant genetic resources to plant breeders brought with it an erosion of agricultural biodiversity as well indigenous farmer lifestyles. Farmers' Rights emerged in recognition of the role of traditional farmers play in conserving, creating, and promoting genetic diversity in the food supply and of the importance of maintaining traditional agriculture practices. This Note argues that Farmers' Rights can be realized internationally through concerted effort. The Note proposes that Farmers' Rights could be realized if national governments create laws and infrastructure that …

The Responsibility To Protect And The Decline Of Sovereignty: Free Speech Protection Under International Law, William Magnuson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

State sovereignty has long held a revered post in international law, but it received a blow in the aftermath of World War II, when the world realized the full extent of atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis on their own citizens. In the postwar period, the idea that individuals possessed rights independent of their own states gained a foothold in world discussions, and a proliferation of human rights treaties guaranteeing fundamental rights followed. These rights were, for the most part, unenforceable, though, and in the 1990s, a number of humanitarian catastrophes (in Kosovo, Rwanda, and Somalia) galvanized the international community to …

The Conflict Between The Alien Tort Statute Litigation And Foreign Amnesty Laws, Carlee M. Hobbs

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since the landmark case Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, foreign individuals have increasingly utilized the Alien Tort Statute to raise claims of human rights violations in the United States federal courts. Defendants, however, have alleged that principles of international comity necessitate dismissal of the suit when the foreign country in which the human rights violations occurred has granted defendants amnesty. While the doctrine of international comity permits dismissal if the case requires a federal court to adjudicate the internal affairs of a foreign country, the Supreme Court held, in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, that the Alien Tort Statue grants U.S. courts jurisdiction over …

Superior Responsibility Of Civilians For International Crimes Committed In Civilian Settings, Yael Ronen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the notion of superior responsibility of civilians for international crimes committed in civilian settings. The doctrine of superior responsibility grew out of the military doctrine of command responsibility, and its evolution is informed by this origin. Jurisprudence and academic writers emphasize that the doctrine is applicable to civilian superiors of military or paramilitary organizations, but there has never been a detailed analysis of the doctrine's relevance and applicability in civilian settings. The Article argues that the claim that customary international law extends the doctrine of superior responsibility to civilians, let alone in civilian settings, is inaccurate. In …

Legal Techniques For Dealing With Scientific Uncertainty In Environmental Law, Jorge E. Vinuales

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article analyzes how scientific uncertainty is handled in international environmental law. It identifies ten legal techniques used for this purpose (i.e., precautionary reasoning; framework-protocol approach; advisory scientific bodies; law-making by treaty bodies; managerial approaches to compliance; prior informed consent; environmental impact assessment and monitoring; provisional measures; evidence; and facilitated liability) and links them to four different stages of development of environmental regimes (i.e., advocacy, design, implementation, and reparation). These techniques are illustrated by reference to some fifteen environmental treaties and other instruments as well as through a detailed case study focusing on the climate change regime.

Judicial Review Under A British War Powers Act, David Jenkins

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article considers how U.K courts might exercise review under a hypothetical British "war powers act," in the event that the current Labour Government or an incoming Tory one responds to calls to reform the Royal War Prerogative and Parliament passes such a statute. The Article undertakes a comparative study, analyzing how U.S. courts apply the political question doctrine in war powers cases. It suggests that they apply the doctrine in a way that assesses the justiciability of the particular subject matter of a case, thereby supporting deference to the political branches in most war powers cases without foreclosing review …

A Global Water Apartheid: From Revelation To Resolution, Itzchak Kornfeld

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

It is well settled in international human rights law that a human right to water exists. Nevertheless, to date, there has been little scholarship about what the practical contours of the right should be. If legal tools are to benefit the world's poor and disenfranchised, they cannot be void due to the impossibility of implementation. This is the problem with the purported human right to water: it is quixotic.

This Article proposes a pragmatic solution to the potable water problem for the world's poor. The solution offered here is based on a model of privatized access to water grounded in …

Standardizing The Principles Of International Election Observation, Jonathan Misk

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On October 27, 2005, thirty-two international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) signed the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, drafted with the assistance of the United Nations. For nearly four decades before the signing of the Declaration, international election observation rapidly gained acceptance as a legitimate method of guaranteeing free and fair elections and thus promoting lasting democratic institutions. Many INGOs and IGOs conducting observation missions--including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of American States, the South African Development Community, and the Carter Center-independently developed standards for their observers to follow. As international …

The Object And Purpose Of A Treaty: Three Interpretive Methods, David S. Jonas, Thomas N. Saunders

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the three most prominent uses of the term "object and purpose" within the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and, in each instance, offers a new method for applying the term. First, the rule that a treaty be interpreted "in light of" its object and purpose requires a process of interpretation that oscillates between a treaty's individual provisions and the logic of all its provisions as a whole. Second, for reservations, the term exists to preserve "rule coherence[,]" as that term has been developed by Professor Thomas Franck. Lastly, states are required upon signature not to …

A Foothold For Real Democracy In Eastern Europe, Elizabeth R. Sheyn

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Ukraine has never had a criminal or civil jury trial despite the fact that the right to a criminal jury trial is guaranteed by Ukraine's Constitution. The lack of jury trials is one of the factors likely contributing to the corruption and deficiencies inherent in Ukraine's judicial system. This Article argues that Ukraine can and should make room for juries in its judicial system and proposes a framework for both criminal and civil jury trials. Although the use of juries will not remedy all of the problems plaguing Ukraine, it could bring the country closer to achieving a truly democratic …

Missed Opportunity: Congress's Attempted Response To The World's Demand For The Violence Against Women Act, Brenton T. Culpepper

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Morrison struck down, as a violation of the Commerce Clause, § 13,981 of the Violence Against Women Act, that provided a private right of action for victims of gender-motivated violence to assert against their abusers. However, § 13,981 should have been affirmed as implementing legislation designed to fulfill U.S. obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and customary international law. Recognizing § 13,981 as implementing legislation serves as a foundation for the United States to restore itself as a legitimate human rights leader capable of both appreciating its own international …