Digital Commons Network^™

Dismantling The Trojan Horse: Mesa County Board Of County Commissioners V. State, Anna-Liisa Mullis

University of Colorado Law Review

Under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights ("TABOR"), an amendment to the Colorado Constitution, the Colorado state and local governments are severely restricted in the amount of revenue they can collect and in their ability to set fiscal policy. As a result, TABOR has forced the state and local governments to shrink relative to the economy and has prevented legislators and government officials from altering TABOR's more unworkable provisions. In 2009, the Colorado Supreme Court decided Mesa County Board of County Commissioners v. State, in which the court rightfully restored a modicum of legislative discretion over the budgeting and taxation processes. …

Parchment, Pixels, & Personhood: User Rights And The Ip (Identity Politics) Of Ip (Intellectual Property), John Tehranian

University of Colorado Law Review

This Article challenges copyright's prevailing narrative on personhood, which has typically focused on the identity interests that authors enjoy in their creative output. Instead, the analysis explores the personhood interests that consumers possess in copyrighted works. Drawing on a wide range of examples-from flag burning as copyright infringement, the "Kookaburra"c ontroversy, and the crowd-sourced origins of the Serenity Prayer to the reported innumeracy of the enigmatic Piraha Amazonians, the apocryphal source of ancient Alexandria's Royal Library and the unusually fragile nature of digital media-the Article advances a Hegelian refutation to intellectual property maximalism and a theory of copyright that recognizes …

Event Hospitality, James Pokrywczynski

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

An Upper Limit For Macromolecular Crowding Effects, Andrew C. Miklos, Congang Li, Courtney D. Sorell, L. Andrew Lyon, Gary J. Pielak

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Solutions containing high macromolecule concentrations are predicted to affect a number of protein properties compared to those properties in dilute solution. In cells, these macromolecular crowders have a large range of sizes and can occupy 30% or more of the available volume. We chose to study the stability and ps-ns internal dynamics of a globular protein whose radius is similar to 2 nm when crowded by a synthetic microgel composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) with particle radii of similar to 300 nm.

Results: Our studies revealed no change in protein rotational or ps-ns backbone dynamics and only mild …

Dr. Youtube Is Ready To See You Now! Health Benefits Of Medical Videos On Youtube, Jordan A. Rosenberg

CMC Senior Theses

Chapter 1 will cover who is uploading the videos and how individuals navigate from professional to amateur videos and visa versa. The discussion will be in context of YouTube as a public sharing space that can contain personal information. A central advantage of YouTube as a space for health information is health communication. Chapter 2 will focus on social networking and the comments section, where patients voluntarily share their voice in an online medical community.

Intellectual Property Rights In Sub-Saharan Africa, Sope Adegoke

CMC Senior Theses

Globalization of the world economy has made knowledge a critical element of effectiveness in the world economy. Current economic and trade conditions change rapidly and require constant improvement to ensure economic development. These conditions stimulate innovation and improvements in technology, designs, and other tangible and intangible assets. Most Sub-Saharan African countries have not exploited the benefits that intellectual property rights offer to its users, despite considerable improvements to existing knowledge and options for protecting knowledge. Strong intellectual property laws are important for effective incentives to invent continuously. It is important to provide some form of compensation and guarantee that their …

Preventing Mother-To-Child Transmission Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (Hiv-1): Effects Of Intrapartum And Neonatal Single-Dose Nevirapine Prophylaxis And Subsequent Hiv-1 Drug Resistance At Antiretroviral Treatment Initiation, Amanda L. Harmon

CMC Senior Theses

The prevention of mother-to-child transmission is one of the most powerful tools in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) prevention and has huge potential to improve both maternal and child health. In the absence of any preventative measures, infants born to and breastfed by their HIV-positive mothers have roughly a one-in-three chance of acquiring the infection themselves. HIV can be passed on from mother-to-child during pregnancy, during labor and delivery, and even after during breastfeeding.

Intrapartum and neonatal single-dose nevirapine (sd-NVP) is the foundation of preventing mother-to-child transmission in lower resource settings where it has been used alone or as …

Foreign Corrupt Bribery Act: Long-Term Benefits Should Outweigh Short-Term Burdens, Brian K. Gose

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Specifically, do long-term benefits from the FCPA outweigh short-term burdens? The paper begins with a short Introduction that provides a roadmap for the overall thesis. Chapter I discusses the business and economic environment of America during the 1970s. Specifically, the focus is on the Watergate scandal and how it played a crucial role in the enactment of the FCPA. Chapter II explains and analyzes specific provisions of the FCPA. It also demonstrates the FCPA‟s relationship to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act …

Spicing Up School Lunch: A Look At One School District's Attempts To Remedy America's Convoluted School Lunch Policies, Case Study Analysis Of Claremont Unified School District, Allison Mcelwee

CMC Senior Theses

The United States possesses a well intentioned but misguided lunch program, leaving children overfed but malnourished. Currently, a revolution is under way to transform programs around the country by incorporating locally grown and fresh ingredients, as well as integrating hands-on educational experiences with gardening and nutrition. The Claremont Unified School District (CUSD) makes up a group of schools that once heavily relied on unhealthy processed foods for providing lunch. Through a series of modifications in the past three years, CUSD’s program has been remodeled to feature more local produce and fresh ingredients, independent of USDA commodities or large scale agriculture. …

An In Depth Look At Gonzales V. Raich: The History Of Medical Marijuana And The Commerce Clause, Rory S. Baird

CMC Senior Theses

The Supreme Court case, Gonzales v. Raich (2005), ruled medical marijuana use, authorized by the State of California, was subject to federal prosecution and regulation under the interstate commerce clause.

A Reexamination Of Us Heroin Policy, Daniel Fogel

CMC Senior Theses

Misguided drug policy in the United States has led to many severe social and economic problems that have burgeoned over the past century.  I analyzed heroin policy specifically, investigating new treatment methods and alternative decriminalization policies that would ameliorate some of these problems.

Running Backs In The Nfl Draft And Nfl Combine: Can Performance Be Predicted?, Chris Blees

CMC Senior Theses

Berri and Simmons (2009) investigate the relationship between the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft. They find that a quarterback’s performance in the Combine can have a significant impact on that player’s draft position. However, they find that no known aspect of a quarterback before they are drafted is an indicator of success in the NFL. I examine if these relationships exist for the Running Back position. I find similar results to Berri and Simmons: that performance in the Combine does have an effect on that player’s draft position, but that no aspect of a running back’s pre-draft characteristics can …

The Impact Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act On American Business From 1977-2010, Ajani Harris

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to present the moral and ethical frameworks in which to consider the effect of bribing on business and the great community; confront the cultural differences that lie between American businesses and its potential interest abroad, as well as the growing international move to implementation similar to that of the FCPA; analyze prior anti-bribery legislation and the historical events that prompted the need for a policy like the FCPA, discuss the basic elements of the policy’s two pronged approach of anti-bribery and disclosure regulation; examine several cases in the enforcement of the FCPA on American businesses; and consider …

Striving For A Happier America: Lessons From Denmark, Leanne P. Ringquist

CMC Senior Theses

American society has lost sight of one of its most valued virtues: Happiness. Research has showed that the United States is behind many other countries in the overall happiness of its citizens. Leading the world in well-being is Denmark. This paper’s aim is to explore possible factors that could be facilitating the well-being of Danish citizens, and applying them to American society. In this search, I explore universal individual factors, as well as factors that lead to the development of a culture and dispositions of its citizens. From these factors, as well as unique characteristics of both countries, I hypothesized …

Examining The Effect Of Psychological Traits On Earnings And The Gender Wage Gap Within A Young Sample Of U.S. Employees, Marika May

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the effect of psychological traits on earnings and furthermore whether it helps explain the gender wage gap. Public-use data collected from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is used to evaluate the impact on earnings on seven psychological factors: masculine traits, self esteem, analytical problem solving approach, willingness to work hard, impulsiveness, problem avoidance, and self-assessed intelligence. Findings show that gender differences in psychological traits are significant and returns to observable characteristics differ somewhat by gender as well. Among the young sample of U.S. employees evaluated in this study, I find that up to 21 percent …

Angel Financing: Matching Start-Up Firms With Angel Investors, Emily M. Rodriguez

CMC Senior Theses

The hardest time to receive financing for a venture is at its earliest stage.  These ventures are among the riskiest investments for an investor, which creates a gap in financing that is often bridged through a source of funding called Angel Financing.  Angel investors are one of the best providers of early stage funding.  This thesis will explain what angel investing is, how they work, and what angels look for.  This information will help entrepreneurs be better equipped to find an angel investor for their venture.

Bolshevik For Capitalism: Ayn Rand & Soviet Socialist Realism, Peter Jebsen

CMC Senior Theses

Since the late 1950s, Russian-American novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand has been “the ultimate gateway drug to life on the right.” Her philosophy – “Objectivism” – combined militant atheism, libertarian natural rights, and a philosophical commitment to what she called “the virtue of selfishness,” and earned her the admiration of such luminaries as Alan Greenspan: a remarkable achievement for an immigrant woman who learned to speak English in her late 20s. What is less-often observed is that Rand’s work, especially her mature novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957), bear a close stylistic resemblance to the Soviet Socialist Realist …

From Riches To Rags: The Political Economy Of The Natural Resource Curse, Anum Malkani

CMC Senior Theses

The natural resource curse paradox has given rise to a wide range of explanations, which look at the economic, social and political characteristics of resource-rich countries. This paper focuses on the political economy of natural resources and finds that controlling for sociopolitical factors eliminates the natural resource curse. The analysis then turns to these sociopolitical factors and examines the significant, complex and varied effects of democratization on economic growth in general, as well as in resource-rich countries in particular. I conclude that the type of institutions needed for economic development in resource-rich countries are not specific to either democratic or …

Alleviating Social Disadvantages Of Rapid Economic Growth: A Case For Conditional Cash Transfer (Cct) Application In Old Siam, Anastasia Kostioukova

CMC Senior Theses

The ongoing conflict between Thailand’s red shirt and yellow shirt parties is not purely political. This tension is rooted in a renewed awareness of regional economic and social inequality, a byproduct of rapid economic growth in the past. This thesis seeks to understand the overall consequences of unequal economic development in Thailand, as the rationale for asserting that a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program is an appropriate policy tool for the ongoing reconciliation efforts.

Analyzing The Effects Of Credit Rating Changes, The Recent Financial Crisis And Other Variables On Firms' Debt Levels, Sean M. Wasserman

CMC Senior Theses

This paper utilizes a sample of firms over the years 2000–2009 to test the effects of credit rating changes, the financial crisis, interest rates, and other variables on short-term, long-term, and total debt levels on the balance sheet. Each independent variable was created using a one year lag in order to run the regressions. The values of these variables from the previous year are being analyzed to see if they can predict debt levels for the following year. The results of this paper suggest that levels of long-term and total debt are somewhat reliant on and are positively correlated with …

Appreciating Bilingualism: The First Step To Reducing Racism In The United States, Jenna Suttmeier

CMC Senior Theses

The goal of this paper is to explore the origins of modern-day racism and to discuss ways to reduce discrimination in the United States. Research on bilingualism and bilingual education indicates that bilingualism can be one method that helps reduce racism and increase cultural acceptance. For example, bilingual education can help establish multicultural identities in school children by providing better educational opportunities for English learners, teaching a new language and culture to native-English speakers, and integrating diverse cultures in classroom settings. Therefore, bilingual education can be a powerful tool in facilitating cultural awareness and reducing racial tensions in the U.S.

The Dentist / Patient Relationship: The Role Of Dental Anxiety, Michael Liu

CMC Senior Theses

Dental anxiety is a common problem found in approximately 80% of the adult population in the United States. This study examined the role of dental anxiety within the dentist/patient relationship. Negative experiences were found to be the most significant contributor of dental anxiety. The negative experiences result largely from the relationship between the dentist and the patient. Both dentist and patient are affected from the effects of dental anxiety. Therefore it is important for the dentist to establish a trusting relationship with the patient to ensure that proper dental care can be provided.

The Success Of Long-Short Equity Strategies Versus Traditional Equity Strategies & Market Returns, Lauren J. Buchanan

CMC Senior Theses

This study examines the performance of long-short equity trading strategies from January 1990 to December 2010. This study combines two financial screens that will yield candidates for both long and short positions for each month during the aforementioned time period. Two long-short strategies are tested: (1) perfectly-hedged, or equal allocation to long and short positions, and (2) net-long. The results of this thesis reveal that if a long-short equity manager is able to successfully determine what companies are overvalued and undervalued and actively rebalance their portfolio, perfectly-hedged and net-long strategies can generate superior risk-adjusted alpha.

Immigration And Identity Politics: The Senegalese In France, Justine Dodgen

CMC Senior Theses

As immigrants arrive in a new culture, they must modify their behaviors to adapt to their host society. Through a review of current literature, I will examine the psychological and sociological aspects of immigration and the effects on migrant identity. I will argue that migrants most desire a bicultural identity, in which they retain some elements of their ethno-cultural identity while adopting some values of French society. The construction of a bicultural identity presents a challenge due to the particular philosophical foundations of the French nation-state and French culture. In the next chapter, I will analyze the challenges Senegalese migrants …

Designing Clinical Trials In Older People., C. B. Carroll, J. P. Zajicek

Peninsula Medical School

Adequate medical care of the increasingly ageing population requires robust clinical trial data both to inform treatment decisions, and to understand the natural history of diseases which primarily affect the elderly. However, this information is widely lacking, which is likely to have significant clinical consequences. Under-representation of older people in clinical trials is well documented, the reasons including physicians' perception, protocol eligibility criteria, and functional status requirements. Many clinical trial designs remain conservative and there is no established standardised methodology for recruiting more elderly patients with co-morbidities and disability into clinical trials. Designing clinical trials in older people poses a …

The Problem With Health Measurement., Stefan J. Cano, Jeremy C. Hobart

Peninsula Medical School

In this review we discuss health measurement with a focus on psychometric methods and methodology. In particular, we examine some of the key issues currently facing the use of clinician and patient rating scales to measure the health outcomes of disease and treatment. We present three key facts and flag one crucial problem. First, the numbers generated by scales are increasingly used as the measurements of the central dependent variables upon which clinical decisions are frequently made. The rising profile of rating scales has significant implications for scale construction, evaluation, and selection, as well as for interpreting studies. Second, rating …

The Map Of Medicine: A Review Of Evidence For Its Impact On Healthcare., Nicola Brennan, Karen Mattick, Tricia Ellis

Peninsula Medical School

OBJECTIVES: Map of Medicine is an evidence-based online clinical knowledge resource. Procured at significant cost by healthcare providers in the UK, Sweden and Denmark, it is important to establish the beneficial impact that investment has had on healthcare practise and, ultimately, on patient outcomes. The objective of this study is to review the evidence for the impact of the Map of Medicine on clinical practice. METHODS: A systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted. Nine healthcare databases, Google Scholar and Google were searched for articles containing the terms 'map of medicine'. RESULTS: The search identified 133 articles. Eleven …

Exploring The Map Of Medicine's Potential In Undergraduate Medical Education., Nicola Brennan, Karen Mattick

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: Map of Medicine is a web-based knowledge resource depicting evidence-based pathways of patient care. Recent publications suggest a possible role for the Map of Medicine as a training tool in postgraduate education. AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the potential of the Map of Medicine to enhance undergraduate medical education. METHODS: A mixed-method study including a survey of UK medical schools, and the embedding of the resource at one medical school and the evaluation of its impact. RESULTS: The survey found that only 1 of 23 medical schools was using the Map of Medicine in its …

The Effect Of Culture On The Implementation Of International Financial Reporting Standards, Mitchell A. Skotarczyk

CMC Senior Theses

As globalization increases at a blistering pace, more and more business entities continue to get involved in cross-border capital investments. A considerable cost can be applied to these types of transaction for the translation of financial statements prepared under dissimilar accounting guidelines into a comparable form. There exist a multiple number of accounting systems that create these dissimilarities, because accounting is a language of business that has been created by society to provide information as to the economic health of an entity. Similar to any other language, varying types of “accounting language” are used across different regions of the globe …

"This Rough Magic:" Imagination, Resurrection, And The Dream World Crisis In Shakespearean Tragedy, Rachel A. Selvin

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, I explored the relationship between Shakespearean tragedy and romance, specifically how each genre treated themes regarding resurrection and the imagination. In romance, I discovered that the imagination became a portal to reality--a way through which characters understood and accepted impermanence, decay, and death. I used romance to illuminate tragedy's failures, showing that in both King Lear and Othello the imagination acts as a mask against the real. I called these imaginative spaces “dream worlds”--fantastical plains in which characters chased their impossible longings for eternity and perfected romantic love. This refusal to engage with the real, I concluded, …