Digital Commons Network^™

Electronic Medical Records: A Prescription For Increased Medical Malpractice Liability?, Blake Carter

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The cost and quality of health care is and most likely will continue to be one of the most important issues that the United States faces in the coming decade. Although no powerful antidote exists to cure this industry of all of its ailments, one potential suggestion to treat some of the symptoms is the introduction of electronic medical records (EMRs).

Members of the medical community, patients, and even politicians all agree that EMRs offer promising opportunities to improve the overall quality of health care. However, lost in the discussion of these opportunities, is a consideration of the potential side …

The Merida Initiative: An Effective Way Of Reducing Violence In Mexico?, Sabrina Abu-Hamdeh

Pepperdine Policy Review

In October 2007, the United States and Mexico announced the Merida Initiative, a $1.4 billion proposal for US assistance in Mexico and Central America’s drug war for FY 2008-FY 2010.8 For the 2008 fiscal year, Congress allocated $400 million for Mexico and $65 million for Central America. This marked a shift in US foreign drug policy, as until this time Colombia had been the main recipient of US aid, not Mexico. According to the US Department of State, Colombia received $600 million for FY 2006, while Mexico received approximately $40 million.9 As the US enters its fourth year of Merida …

Financial Resiliency Before, During, And After The Great Recession: Results Of An Online Study, Barbara O'Neill, Jing Jian Xiao

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Resilience can be defined as the capacity to adapt creatively to stressful life events and function well in the face of disruption, chaos, or challenging or threatening circumstances. Financial resilience is the ability to withstand both positive and negative life events that impact one’s income and/or assets. This paper describes the concept of financial resilience and results of an online study of personal resiliency resources (N =1,109) before, during, and after the recent Great Recession, including differences in financial practices between time periods. The article concludes with a discussion of findings and implications for consumer educators.

Norman Wirzba And Bruce Ellis Benson, Eds., Transforming Philosophy And Religion: Love's Wisdom, N.N. Trakakis

Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers

No abstract provided.

Tears And Weeping: An Augustinian View, Paul J. Griffiths

Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers

No abstract provided.

Policy Appears Upon The Scene, Hand In Hand With Poverty: An Analysis Of The Moderating Effects Of Teacher Attitude On The Relationship Between Professional Development And Student Achievement., Kristen Beth Adler

Master's Theses

Massive deficits in local, state and national education budgets are forcing schools to adapt their spending to align with these reductions. Rather than merely increasing or decreasing resources, the effectiveness of resource allocation is demanding renewed attention at all levels of educational expenditure. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of teacher professional development across five campuses at Chicago International Charter School. It is the goal of this project to examine how teacher professional development directly impacts student performance, as well as to evaluate whether this relationship is moderated by teacher attitude towards professional development activities. It …

Global Finance, Multinationals And Human Rights: With Commentary On Backer’S Critique Of The 2008 Report By John Ruggie, Faith Stevelman

Faculty Articles

This article references the excellent article of Larry Cata Backer, as it provides an analysis of the 2008 Report's "Protect, Respect, Remedy" (PRR) framework. Ruggie's most recent efforts, reflected in the 2010 Report, are directed at operationalizing the PRR framework set forth in the 2008 Report. Both these reports have been vetted internationally amongst governments, lawyers, academics and human rights advocates. How will governments, corporations, trade associations and rights advocates conceptualize and construct the fora and modes of recourse available to persons aggrieving human rights abuses? That question is the central focus of the 2010 Report and, as such, lies …

Your Mayor, Your “Friend”: Public Officials, Social Networking, And The Unmapped New Public Square, Bill Sherman

Faculty Articles

The use of online social networks by local public officials has drawn the ire of local governments, some of whom have gone so far as to bar public officials from social networks for fear of violating campaign finance, open meeting, freedom of information, and government ethics laws. These objections overlook the unique nature of civic social networks as an emerging political institution, characterized by a high degree of transparency and intense public pressure for accountability. The nature of this new institution renders the alarmist reaction overblown. Civic social networks are the new public square, and local governments should embrace them …

Bias In The Classroom, One Degree Removed: The Story Of Turner V. Stime And Amicus Participation, Robert S. Chang

Faculty Articles

This article summarizes a recent amicus brief written by the Korematsu Center. It describes a Spokane, Washington medical malpractice case where juror racial bias toward a party’s attorney was used as direct evidence. It describes the momentum and mobilization of the amicus brief, and the success in the appellate courts. It is offered as a model for how law school clinics can engage in effective advocacy to help democratize the courts.

The Muslim Manchurian Candidate: Barack Obama, Rumors, And Quotidian Hermeneutics, Bryan Adamson

Faculty Articles

This article examines the rumors about President Barack Obama which accused him of being Muslim, unpatriotic, and a terrorist sympathizer. Despite ample evidence that the rumors were patently false, on Election Day, fully 10% of the voters continued to believe that he was Muslim. In addition, many continued to harbor the pernicious racial, socio-ethnic, and religious biases that shaped the rumors. This article asks, and answers “why” the rumors persisted.

This article provides an answer from a unique communication theory perspective. This article first mines the sources of the Obama rumors, and how those rumors were amplified in the media. …

Meeting Across The River: Why Affirmative Action Needs Race And Class Diversity, Deirdre M. Bowen

Faculty Articles

This paper is a response to Richard Sander’s latest work challenging the notion that race based affirmative action is still relevant and demanding that institutions of higher education consider class based affirmative action. To support his thesis, Sander conducts an empirical study on who benefits from affirmative action.

This Article is divided into three sections, each containing a critique of Sander’s arguments and analysis. First, I briefly reframe and reiterate the history of race and ethnicity in affirmative action’s origins to directly confront the assumption that Sander makes about what affirmative action’s original purpose entailed. The goal of Part I …

Sticky Knowledge In Copyright, Margaret Chon

Faculty Articles

Knowledge is sticky because it adheres to people along social routes, lodged within relational and collective modalities, as well as through copyright's proverbial fixed works that can be transacted more freely. Sticky knowledge may in fact constitute a much larger body of knowledge than we usually acknowledge in intellectual property and may intersect with copyright in unexpected ways. This Article delves into sticky knowledge, which has been referenced often outside of intellectual property and sometimes within the laws of patents and trade secrets but almost not at all within copyright law. Under what circumstances will sticky knowledge encourage robust knowledge …

From Both Sides Now: The Job Talk’S Role In Matching Candidates With Law Schools, Anne Enquist, Paula Lustbader, John B. Mitchell

Faculty Articles

In the heavily competitive law school teaching job market, the so-called “job talk” has assumed increasing importance in the ultimate hiring decision. Nevertheless, there is little published information to assist a law school faculty in structuring or evaluating the job talk and a similar paucity of information for candidates to guide them in creating and preparing for the presentation of their talk. This article is intended to fill that void. The article guides the preparation of faculty and candidates for both the job talk itself and for the crucial Q&A period that follows the talk. The article represents the authors’ …

Labor Values Are First Amendment Values: Why Union Comprehensive Campaigns Are Protected Speech, Charlotte Garden

Faculty Articles

Corporate targets of union “comprehensive campaigns” increasingly have responded by filing civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuits alleging that unions’ speech and petitioning activities are extortionate. These lawsuits are the descendants of the Supreme Court’s unexplained treatment of much labor speech as less worthy of protection than other types of speech. Starting from the position that speech that promotes democratic discourse deserves top-tier First Amendment protection, this article argues that labor speech--which plays a unique role in civil society--should be on an equal footing with civil rights speech. Thus, even if union advocacy qualifies as legal extortion, …

Punctuated Equilibrium: A Model For Administrative Evolution, Mark C. Niles

Faculty Articles

The “public choice” model of the administrative state posits a federal regulatory structure that is dominated by the private entities subject to its policy proscriptions. The formidable advantages in resources and focus enjoyed by the these private entities leave governmental units, like agencies and legislatures, with little realistic chance to resist agency capture and avoid implementing the policy objectives of the parties whom they are charged with regulating.

As theoretically powerful and practically descriptive as this model is, there is one significant question for which it fails to provide a satisfying answer—why, if regulated entities enjoy a strangle-hold on the …

Neither A Model Of Clarity Nor A Model Statute: An Analysis Of The History, Challenges, And Suggested Changes To The “New” Article 120, Hon. Jack Nevin, Joshua R. Lorenz

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

No. 7 - The Future Of International Trade: An American Perspective, Rebecca H. White, C. Donald Johnson, Mark Laplante, John Sheppard, Chris Papageorgiou, Charles Hunnicutt, William Gillon, Marisa Pagnattaro, John Cobau, Audrey Winter, Theodore Kassinger, Demetrios Marantis, Shanker Singham, Frank Samolis, Andrew Shoyer, Ayesha Khanna

Occasional Papers Series

Organized and sponsored by the Dean Rusk Center for International Law and Policy and the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, along with the Business Law Society and Graduate Business Association, The Future of International Trade was a daylong conference exploring issues related to the business aspects of international trade, future challenges for trade, and the future of multilateral trade negotiations. Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, deputy U.S. trade representative, served as the keynote speaker for the event.

To Reveal Or Conceal?—An Isp’S Dilemma, Presenting A New “Anonymous Public Concern Test” For Evaluating Isp Subpoenas In Online Defamation Suits, Cayce Myers

LLM Theses and Essays

This article proposes a new test called the “Anonymous Public Concern Test” which incorporates public concern analysis in enforcing Internet Service Provider [ISP] subpoenas in online defamation suits. Anonymous speech is an important aspect of First Amendment rights that warrants protection. Current tests used by courts to analyze whether to enforce ISP subpoenas are either too pro-plaintiff or too pro-defendant. The article’s proposed “Anonymous Public Concern Test” is the best approach in dealing with ISP subpoenas because it protects both anonymous speeches and preserves online defamation plaintiffs’ rights.

A Mixed Mode Analysis Of The Impact Of Requirement Volatility On Software Project Success, Rahul Thakurta

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Requirement volatility has been identified as a significant risk factor behind software project success. This paper describes our findings of a 2-phase study comprising of interviews and surveys on the preparedness of organizations in managing requirement volatility and the resultant effect on project success and failure. Findings illuminate on the current level of awareness and management response to the problem of requirement volatility affecting software projects. The subjective treatment of project success/failure is brought out, and the association with requirement volatility is explored. Results are expected to lead to better governance mechanisms and improve project success rates under requirement volatility.

Managing Virtual Team Performance: An Exploratory Study Of Social Loafing And Social Comparison, Limin Zhang, Fang Chen, Joseph Latimer

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study investigates the effects of social comparison and social loafing on virtual team performance when teams engage in asynchronous ideation process. The results of the study suggest that the effects of social comparison and social loafing co-exist in virtual teams. Team members may choose to engage in different behaviors (social loafing vs. social comparison) in different team interactions. Furthermore, team members tend to elaborate on the ideas generated by co-workers. As a result, teams with less social loafing will produce richer elaboration on ideas generated.

Questioning The Frequency And Wisdom Of Compulsory Licensing For Pharmaceutical Patents, F. Scott Kieff, Richard A. Epstein

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Many advocates for using compulsory licensing (“CL”) for pharmaceutical patents in developing countries like Thailand rest their case in part on the purported use of CL in the United States. In this paper we take issue with that proposition on several grounds. As a theoretical matter, we argue that the basic presumption in favor of voluntary licenses for IP should apply in the international arena, in addition to the domestic one. In the international context, voluntary licenses are of special importance because they strengthen the supply chain for distributing pharmaceuticals and ease the government enforcement of safety standards. Next, this …

Conflicting Interests In The Swiss Alps: A Comparative Study Of International Environmental Governance, Shelley Clark

Honors Theses

I owe a great deal ofthanks to the people who helped with my thesis. First, my advisor Dr. John Sonnett helped shape and edit my thesis more than anyone else. My third-reader Dr. Ann Fisher-Wirth and my second-reader Dr. Kees Gispen should also be given credit for the completion ofmy thesis. Dr. Fisher-Wirth has been an inspiration to me since my first year at Ole Miss. She planted the seeds of environmentalism in my head and also fostered the exchange program with the University ofFribourg. Completing the thesis component for the Honors College and the Croft Institute has been an …

Does A Rising Tide Lift All Boats? An Analysis Of China's Increasing Gini Coefficient From 1980-2006, Erin Singleton

Honors Theses

Erin Singleton: Docs A Rising Tide Life All Boats? An Analysis of China's Increasing Gini Coefficient from 1980-2006 (under the direction of Dr. Ali Gungoraydinglu)

Income inequality has become a serious concern for both Chinese citizens and policy makers alike as the Gini coefficient has been consistently rising since the economic transition to a market economy began in 1978. The anti-globalization movement cites this increasing income gap as a negative result of China's entrance into the global market. On the contrary, supporters of globalization cite the dramatic decrease in China's poverty rate during this same period as evidence of globalization's …

Dialogue Magazine, Winter 2011

Dialogue, the magazine of the DePaul University College of Law

No abstract provided.

Under The Blow Dryer: A Study Of Three Fictional Beauty Shops, Leslie Johns Ray

Honors Theses

In this thesis I explore how the beauty shop provides economic and social power to the women who own, operate, and patronize the fictional beauty shops over a seventy Petrified Man," Robert Marling's play Steel year time span in Eudora Welty's short story Magnolias, and director Bille Woodruffs film Beauty Shop. 1 have researched historical and sociological studies on American beauty shops and hterai*y studies of these works to discover common themes between fictional and actual beauty shops. Within the beauty shop, women often create a space independent of gender, race, economic, and class barriers present outside the shop walls. …

Bridge Over The River Kawaii: Examining The Consumption Of Anime And Manga In The United States, Luke Daniel Schwalm

Honors Theses

The sale of manga, Japanese comic books, and anime, its animated counterpart, in the United States has become a multi-million dollar enterprise and both mediums have gained an increasingly large fandom. Based on the framework of Said’s conception of orientalism and using information gathered from observing seven popular anime and manga internet forums and five semi-structured interviews this thesis seeks to understand how a segment of this fandom, namely those of its members who are active in online discussion, consume manga and anime and how this consumption affects their views of Japan. In conducting this research I found that the …

American Pornographic: A Collection Of Short Stories, Steven William Stringer

Honors Theses

This collection represents my best writing culled from four years of undergraduate study. Encouragingly, I wrote the vast majority of the collection within the past year, which points to the fact that I am still improving and evolving as a writer. These stories fill various American landscapes, but I believe the emotional landscapes share a common thread. The characters strive not to find a purpose in their lives, but to reject the idea of life having a purpose at all. Soldier On, Babies,” the oldest story in the collection and a major turning point in my writing, tells of a …

Harry Potter And The Religious Right: An In-Depth Look At The Christian Undertones In J.K. Rowling's Series, Cody Pharr Hall

Honors Theses

This thesis involves an investigation of the Christian elements in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series. Methods and procedures included researching right wing religious responses to the Harry Potter series through media outlets. Each book was read and analyzed in response to religious objections. The series was explicated and studied for religious themes and ideas. The claims of the witchcraft content in the series were researched and expounded upon. Supplementary readers were used, and commentators were relied upon for certain cited ideas. The findings of this thesis are that fringe religious groups who oppose the Potter series are misinformed in …

An Analysis Of Personal Transformation And Musical Adaptation In Vocal Compositions Of Kurt Weill, Elizabeth Rose Williamson

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the compositional transitions in the musical career of Kurt Weill as seen in his Gcmian, French, and American works. Weill was a Gemian-bom composer who was forced to immigrate to France in the 1920’s. He then immigrated to America where he composed for both stage and screen. Specific vocal works by the composer in each country were studied. Research was conducted through the analysis of sheet music, recordings, and a vocal performance of the specific pieces studied. Recordings provided the important aspect of understanding the appropriate vocal style for the music as preferred by the composer. The …

Creating Knowledge, Volume 4, 2011

Creating Knowledge

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, through the deliberations and efforts of its task force on “Students Creating Knowledge”, chaired by Professor Ralph Erber, associate dean for research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, committed itself to a number of new strategic initiatives that would enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the college. Chief among these initiatives was one that would encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and give them a venue for the publication of their essays. The first volume of “Creating Knowledge: The LA&S Student …