Digital Commons Network^™

Keep America Exceptional! Against Adopting Japanese And European-Style Criminalization Of Contributory Copyright Infringement, Salil K. Mehra

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This brief Article, written in connection with a Symposium hosted by the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, addresses nascent criminal enforcement against contributory copyright infringement in connection with P2P file sharing. Using Judge Posner's analysis in the Aimster case as a lens, it discusses recent cases in Japan and Sweden. This Article contends that criminalization involves an inherent uncertainty involving an innovator's knowledge of, and intent for, the future uses of the platform by others. Despite the difficulty of this task, since Japan and the E.U. have seen criminal prosecutions brought against contributory infringers, it should not evoke …

Information Wars And The Challenges Of Content Protection In Digital Contexts, Raymond T. Nimmer

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

We are in the midst of a fundamental conflict in law and policy between those who favor maintaining and expanding copyright and related rights in the digital context ("rights enhancers"), and those who favor letting rights atrophy ("rights restrictors'). This Article argues that strong intellectual property rights are essential. At minimum, they are important to support creativity in contexts where the creation, collection, or distribution of the content requires substantial investment of time and resources. The case for allowing creators' rights to weaken is both untested and structurally suspect. Copyright law must construct a balance that fully supports creative activity …

What's In A Name?: Predictably Regulating Cyberfraud To Protect The Democratic Political Process, Whitney C. Boshers

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In recent elections, political candidates have capitalized on the Internet as a central organizing resource. As a result of the low-cost, high-reward nature of campaign websites, some candidates have begun to register Web addresses--or domains--in opponents' names in order to disrupt the democratic political process. Engaging in a practice known as cyberfraud, these individuals register for domains containing the candidate's name, such as 'firstnamelastname.com." Then, instead of finding themselves on the candidate's official campaign website, voters access a website operated by the candidate's opponent that contains misleading or outright false information. Unfortunately, most political candidates have little recourse for such …

Along For The Ride: Gps And The Fourth Amendment, Stephen A. Josey

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

With the advent of new technologies, the line as to where the Fourth Amendment forbids certain police behavior and when it does not has become increasingly blurred. Recently, the issue of whether police may use Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices to track individuals for prolonged periods of time without first securing a search warrant has crept its way into the limelight. The various circuits have arrived at different conclusions, and the question has now found its way onto the US Supreme Court's docket. After analyzing and weighing both Supreme Court case law and public policy considerations, this Note concludes …

Full Issue, Digressions

Digressions: Literary & Art Journal

No abstract provided.

Hummingbird, Mikaela Myers

Digressions: Literary & Art Journal

No abstract provided.

Flip You Off, Send Off, Victoria Rajkumar

Digressions: Literary & Art Journal

No abstract provided.

Caterpillar, Lyle Howe

Digressions: Literary & Art Journal

No abstract provided.

Crippled, Alyssa Sterkel

Digressions: Literary & Art Journal

No abstract provided.

The Heart Of The Matter: The Function And Relational Effects Of Humor For Cardiovascular Patients, Nicholas Lee Lockwood

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examined the possibility that cardiovascular patient health is enhanced by the intentional communication of humor and associated increases in relationship satisfaction. In an effort to study the relationship between these variables it was predicted that relationship satisfaction mediates the effects between humor functions and health. Questionnaire data was collected from members of two national support groups for patients of cardiovascular disease. Findings support humor functions distinguished in previous studies and support the hypothesis that relationship satisfaction mediates health. Specifically, distancing humor negatively predicted relationship satisfaction and health. These findings offer new insight into the variability of humor effects.

The Influence Of Environmental Variables On Predicting Rare-Plant Habitat In The Nez Perce National Forest, Thor Burbach

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Habitat suitability modeling is widely-used in both biogeography and ecology to characterize the biophysical requirements and distribution of plant and animal species. Many of these modeling efforts use different variants of essentially the same topo-climatic variables (elevation, slope, aspect, precipitation, and temperature). However, these commonly used variables may not sufficiently explain the distribution of rare-plant species, which may have additional habitat needs. The aim of this project was to determine guidelines for selection of variables to include in statistical modeling efforts to predict suitable rare-plant habitat. Additionally, how background extent, data resolution, sample size, and various ranking criteria effect environmental …

The Szego Kernel For Non-Pseudoconvex Domains In C2, Michael Gilliam

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There are many operators associated with a domain Ω ⊂ â„‚ⁿ with smooth boundary ∂Ω. There are two closely related projections that are of particular interest. The Bergman projection B is the orthogonal projection of L²(Ω) onto the closed subspace L²(Ω)∩O(Ω), where O(Ω)is the space of all holomorphic functions on Ω. The Szeg� projection S is the orthogonal projection of L²(∂Ω) onto the space H²(Ω) of boundary values of elements of O(Ω). These projection operators have integral representations

B[f](z) = ∫_Ω,f(w)B(z,w)dw, S[f](z) = ∫_{∂Ω, …}

Against Doom And Gloom, Michael Crouch

Pepperdine Policy Review

Popular economic literature has been overcome by competition for trendy titles and unique subject matter. After all, authors dealing with topics other than the current financial crisis must provide publishers a reason to put out the book, and prompt readers to want to look at it. Yet, Matt Ridley seems to rise above it all in his most recent book, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (excepting, perhaps, his provocatively titled prologue). Ridley, a journalist by trade, has previously written about the fields of genetics and evolution and his skills make him a natural at answering two questions: how did …

The Impact Of The Global Financial Crisis On Sub-Saharan Africa, Odinakachi J. Anyanwu

Pepperdine Policy Review

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the global financial crisis on the growth and development of sub-Saharan Africa and to discuss the policy implications of the crisis. Understanding the impact of the global financial crisis on sub-Saharan Africa is of critical importance because of the continent’s severe volatility. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the largest number of low-income countries in the world; more than fifty percent of the population lives on less than US $1.25 per day.1 The region is also plagued with country-specific political problems, which are at risk of exacerbation by increasing levels …

Unions Matter, John S. Thomas

Pepperdine Policy Review

Unions invested heavily in the last statewide election in California. It is worthwhile to examine the correlation between the political candidates’ campaign war chests and union political funding. Meg Whitman, while largely self-funded, suffered a massive defeat at the hands of Jerry Brown. A credible argument can be made that Jerry Brown’s message resonated, while Whitman was simply out of touch with the average California voter. On the surface this might be true, but digging deeper into the campaigns reveals another story. Jerry Brown was the beneficiary of over $30 million spent by unions on negative advertising against Meg Whitman, …

Bilingual, Esl, And English Immersion: Educational Models For Limited English Proficient Students In Texas, Kelly Faltis

Pepperdine Policy Review

Education of limited English proficient (LEP) students is important for domestic economic growth, the cohesion of society within the United States, and for maintaining US competitiveness in the global economy. Ineffective education of LEP students might have detrimental effects on the economic future of the new immigrants, the education of English speaking students, and the US economy as a whole. A majority of the estimated 5.3 million LEP students within the United States are Hispanic.1 Given this large population, finding the best model to educate LEP students is an important policy goal. Texas has the second largest LEP population, next …

The Political And Economic Implications Of The Asian Carp Invasion, Thomas Just

Pepperdine Policy Review

“Asian carp will kill jobs and ruin our way of life.”1 Such is the sentiment expressed by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and many other politicians and interest groups in the Great Lakes Region. The invasion of non-native species into the Great Lakes is a public policy problem that has the ability to severely damage the region’s environment and economy. Alterations to the region’s waterways have led to the threat of invasive species overwhelming, and in fact, destroying the natural ecosystem of the world’s largest body of freshwater. The issue of invasive species has resulted in a clash between numerous …

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 …

Here And Back Again: Us National Security Interest In The Arab/Israeli Conflict, Miriam Keim

Pepperdine Policy Review

It would be easy to characterize the Arab/Israeli conflict as simply a religious disagreement: fiery rhetoric, often fueled by religious beliefs, is preached by both sides as to the legitimacy of the existence of Israel. Religion cannot be completely removed from the equation, as many contested sites, particularly in Jerusalem, have deep religious significance to Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. However, the main motivator behind the conflict is land, with both Israelis and Palestinians claiming their rights to the area now known as Israel, as well as the disputed Occupied Territories, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.1 Any …

Message From The Editor, Alexander N. Fondrier

Pepperdine Policy Review

Editor's introduction.

Hope Worldwide Indonesia Positive Choice Program, Jillian Kissee

Pepperdine Policy Review

This document provides recommendations and guidance for HOPE worldwide Indonesia’s implementation of Positive Choice. It discusses the current HIV situation; obstacles the country faces in implementing a school-based HIV-drug prevention program; criteria for the start-up, approach, and implementation of Positive Choice; and finally recommendations for further action. On the basis of extensive field research, it is recommended that HOPE worldwide institute a curriculum-based HIV-drug prevention pilot program in Jakarta, the province with the third highest rate of HIV infections in the country. This program should be rooted in evidence-based effective practices which incorporate the Abstinence, Be faithful, and Condom use …

Given The Choice: Family Values In California’S Largest School Districts, Raija Churchill

Pepperdine Policy Review

Through a quantitative analysis of twenty-five school districts, which are among the state’s largest, this research asks what policies school districts choose to implement when California’s Education Code gives them freedom to adopt or ignore policies that impact traditional moral beliefs and parental rights. These beliefs recognize that parents hold primary responsibility—and therefore, primary authority—when it comes to deciding questions such as sexual education.

The Tribal College Movement: Ensuring That Native American Students Successfully Complete An Associate Degree And Persist To Earn A Four-Year Degree, Cheri Lynn Kicking Woman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This mixed method study examined the utilization of educational resources available to 44 Native American students. One-half initially attended a tribal college, and one-half Native American students who initially attended a non-tribal college. The qualitative process involved face-to-face interviews with the participants at the seven Montana tribal colleges. The resources included: mentoring programs, library services, financial aid assistance, distance learning programs, disability services, scholarships' applications process assistance, assistance in use of computers and the skills needed, tutors, student organizations, and academic counselors.

The data from the first phase of the study were illustrated by the use of tables and descriptive …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of English Faculty And Students Of Exit English Examinations At Taiwan's Technological And Vocational Higher Education Institutions, Yirng-Hurng Emma Liauh

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The mix-method research aimed to investigate the attitudes toward the implementation of Exit English Examination (EEE) from the perspectives of English faculties and their students at Taiwan's technological and vocational higher education institutions. The survey participants were 66 English faculty and 1009 students in ten first-tier Universities of Technology and Institutes of Technology in Northern Taiwan based on the admission scores of the Technological and Vocational College Entrance Examination in the school year of 2009-2010. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Spearman Correlation tests of the SPSS were conducted to determine the characteristics and statistically significant …

The Story Of Things, Lucy Elizabeth Capehart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Capehart, Lucy, M.F.A., Spring 2011 Fine Art The Story of Things Chairperson: Professor Matthew Hamon The Story of Things examines the power of objects to hold narrative and inspire the emotional responses of longing, loss and desire. There is a tendency among humans to gather and save objects that hold personal significance. The most banal object is cherished perhaps kept in a box to be admired on occasion. An earring can symbolize the lost love of a boyfriend, a ticket to a basketball game can mark the day after a father’s funeral or a fingernail brush is a stand in …

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.

The Financial Management Behavior Scale: Development And Validation, Jeffrey Dew, Jing Jian Xiao

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Although research on financial management behavior is common, few financial management behavior scales exist that are simultaneously multi-dimensional, psychometrically validated, and validated using nationally representative data. Using data from a nationally representative sample of adults, this study developed and examined the psychometric properties of a new scale of financial management behaviors. The Financial Management Behavior Scale (FMBS) displayed adequate reliability (alpha = .81). The FMBS was highly associated with other measures of financial management behaviors and was predictive of participants’ actual levels of savings and consumer debt. These findings suggest that the full FMBS is a reliable and valid measure …

Effect Of Different Drying Temperatures On The Moisture And Phytochemical Constituents Of Edible Irish Brown Seaweed, Shilpi Gupta, Sabrina Cox, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam

Articles

The effect of different temperatures on the drying kinetics and the phytochemical constituents of edible Irish brown seaweed, Himanthalia elongata were studied. This kinetic study involved the modelling of the terms of Fick’s diffusion equation, for estimation of the diffusion coefficients. The diffusivity coefficient increased from 5.6×10−07-12.2×10−07 m2/s as the drying temperatures increased with an estimated activation energy of 37.2 kJ/mol. The experimental data was also fitted to different empirical kinetic models, Newton, Logarithmic and Henderson-Pabis, and the goodness of fit for the different models was evaluated. The effect of drying temperatures on the phytochemical constituents in seaweed was also …

Considering Pathological Altruism In The Law From Therapeutic Jurisprudence And Neuroscience Perspectives, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Happy 65th Birthday: What Now?, Peter J. Strauss

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.