Digital Commons Network^™

Clean Energy And The Price Preemption Ceiling, Jim Rossi

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Part I of this Article provides an illustration of the feed-in tariff one clean energy innovation many state and municipal governments have enacted to encourage investment in renewable energy. In a nutshell, the feed-in tariff is a secure contract for renewable power at a set price over a term of years that provides a return to investors in these projects, such as a homeowner installing a solar panel or wind turbine. Part II of this Article describes preemption issues that have risen with feed-in tariffs under two federal statutes the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, which requires utilities …

Regulation, Climate Change, And The Electric Grid, Davod B. Spence

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

In Part I of this essay, I outline some of the background characteristics of the electric grid, the way it is operated, and the way regulators and grid operators manage the sale and transmission of electricity across it. In Part II, I explore the opportunities and potential problems associated with integrating intermittent, renewable sources of electric generation into the grid. This discussion includes a review of a number of recent studies examining the GHG emissions effects of using fossil fueled generation to back up wind power, as well as the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission?s (FERC) recent rulemakings addressing this …

The Politics Of Clean Energy: Moving Beyond The Beltway, Joseph P. Tomain

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article argues that the United States can achieve a new and smart energy policy and that we are taking active steps in this direction. Off of the Hill, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, there is clear thinking about clean energy. Consider President Obamas choice for Secretary of Commerce, John Bryson. Bryson has been the CEO of a public electric utility, a founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and sits on the boards of such organizations as Boeing and Disney and clean energy firms like Coda Automotive and BrightSource Energy exactly the right job description for a clean energy advocate. …

Effective Renewable Energy Policy: Leave It To The States?, Steven Weissman

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The federal system employed in the United States offers many models for cooperation between the federal government and the states in pursuit of important policy objectives. Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can establish air quality standards and delegate enforcement to the states. The Coastal Zone Management Act empowers states to establish plans for management of ocean waters close to shore and to have a say related to offshore projects that are in federal jurisdictional waters. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 allows coal states to set and enforce their own rules related …

Space Commercialization: The Need To Immediately Renegotiate Treaties Implicating International Environmental Law, Alexander G. Davis

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Outer space is truly the final frontier for both scientific exploration and frontier-style commercialization. Given its extra-national nature, international treaties have formed the basis of space law, but these treaties predate any notion of the true potential for space commercialization. The private sector has relied on this regulation-free industry when developing its spacecraft, mission structure, and operating procedures, often to the detriment of Earth's and its surrounding environment, with space debris, i.e. space junk or space trash, and greenhouse gas emissions being the primary externalities. This Comment provides a background on the commercial space industry and applicable law and treaties, …

Administrative Absurdity: Why The Judiciary Should Uphold Epa's Use Of The Administrative Necessity And Absurd Results Doctrines Within The Tailoring Rule., David P. Vincent

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments advanced by EPA as well as its opponents regarding the Agencys reliance on these administrative law doctrines to tailor PSD and Title V applicability criteria. The Comment concludes with an explanation of why the judiciary will likely rule in EPAs favor in this instance.

Part I of this Comment introduces the Tailoring Rule, including its background and the emissions thresholds it seeks to implement regarding PSD and Title V programs. Part II presents EPAs legal basis for the creation and subsequent implementation of the Tailoring Rule, including the concept of …

Bulletin Of Yale University School Of Nursing 2012-2013, Yale School Of Nursing

Yale School of Nursing Bulletins and Catalogues

Series 108, Number 15

September 5, 2012

Sale Price Relationships To Performance Characteristics And Genetic Merit In Beef Bulls Sold In Beef Cattle Improvement Sales And Tests In The Southeast Usa From 1974 To 2011, Marty Landon Marks

Theses and Dissertations

Herd sires are an important investment for beef cattle producers in the Southeast United States of America (USA). For producers, bull selection decisions are critical to introduce new and compatible genetics into their cow herd. The impact of bull selection affects the cow herd and many calf crops when heifers by these herd sires are retained for breeding replacements. The objective of this study was to determine the relationships over time between bull sale prices and individual performance and measures of genetic merit for bulls sold in the state of Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The study was conducted using …

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility As Quasi-Public Fund: Transparency And Independence In Claim Administrator Compensation, Byron G. Stier

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Beyond Compensation For Offshore Drilling Accidents: Lowering Risks, Improving Response, Kenneth M. Murchison

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Continuous Time-Varying Biasing Approach For Spectrally Tunable Infrared Detectors, Woo-Yong Jang, Majeed M. Hayat, Payman Zarkesh-Ha, Sanjay Krishna

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In a recently demonstrated algorithmic spectral-tuning technique by Jang et al. [Opt. Express 19, 19454-19472, (2011)], the reconstruction of an object’s emissivity at an arbitrarily specified spectral window of interest in the long-wave infrared region was achieved. The technique relied upon forming a weighted superposition of a series of photocurrents from a quantum dots-in-a-well (DWELL) photodetector operated at discrete static biases that were applied serially. Here, the technique is generalized such that a continuously varying biasing voltage is employed over an extended acquisition time, in place using a series of fixed biases over each sub-acquisition time, which totally …

New Perspective On Passively Quenched Single Photon Avalanche Diodes: Effect Of Feedback On Impact Ionization, David A. Ramirez, Majeed M. Hayat, Graham J. Rees, Xudong Jiang, Mark A. Itzler

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are primary devices in photon counting systems used in quantum cryptography, time resolved spectroscopy and photon counting optical communication. SPADs convert each photo-generated electron hole pair to a measurable current via an avalanche of impact ionizations. In this paper, a stochastically self-regulating avalanche model for passively quenched SPADs is presented. The model predicts, in qualitative agreement with experiments, three important phenomena that traditional models are unable to predict. These are: (1) an oscillatory behavior of the persistent avalanche current; (2) an exponential (memoryless) decay of the probability density function of the stochastic quenching time of the …

Posters, Programs, And Perspectives On Democracy, Chad M. Kahl, Janet Paterson

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Kahl and Paterson provide an example of collaboration around a specific, one-time program that both units were interested in bringing to their university, in this case an art installation on the theme of democracy. Although the authors spearheaded the program, they tapped the expertise of colleagues in their units and across campus in order to accomplish their goals. Kahl and Paterson's work also serves as an example of combining active programming, in this case three lectures by campus faculty, with passive programming, an approach where professionals create exhibits or educational displays in a centrally located venue for students and others …

A New Ensemble Learning Method For Temporal Pattern Identification, Wenjing Zhang, Xin Feng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper we present a method for identification of temporal patterns predictive of significant events in a dynamic data system. A new hybrid model using Reconstructed Phase Space (MRPS) and Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is applied to identify temporal patterns. This method constructs phase space embedding by using individual embedding of each variable sequences. We also employ Hidden Markov Models (HMM) to the multivariate sequence data to categorize multi-dimensional data into three states, e.g. normal, patterns and events. A support vector machine optimization method is used to search an optimal classifier to identify temporal patterns that are predictive of …

A Very Robust Algan/Gan Hemt Technology To High Forward Gate Bias And Current, Bradley D. Christiansen, Eric R. Heller, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., Ramakrishna Vetury, Jeffrey B. Shealy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Reports to date of GaN HEMTs subjected to forward gate bias stress include varied extents of degradation. We report an extremely robust GaN HEMT technology that survived—contrary to conventional wisdom—high forward gate bias (+6 V) and current (>1.8 A/mm) for >17.5 hours exhibiting only a slight change in gate diode characteristic, little decrease in maximum drain current, with only a 0.1 V positive threshold voltage shift, and, remarkably, a persisting breakdown voltage exceeding 200 V.

Planning For Shoreline Retreat In Matunuck: The Relevance Of Coastal Geologic Processes And Climate Change, Shannon Hulst

Open Access Master's Theses

Property owners and town officials in South Kingstown, Rhode Island are seeking means to protect private property and a local road from coastal erosion. Matunuck Beach Road is the only means of egress for nearly five-hundred homes in the village of Matunuck, and there is a public water main running underneath. There are millions of dollars worth of private structures that are also in danger from erosion. The political factors at play in this case are the desire to preserve private investments, the interest in keeping thriving businesses open, the protection of infrastructure, and the maintenance of community character. In …

Prosecutors And Peremptories, Alafair S. Burke

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

A quarter of a century after the Court’s decision in Batson v. Kentucky, overwhelming evidence demonstrates that lawyers continue to exercise peremptory challenges in racialized ways. In light of Batson’s failure to alter a stubborn pattern of using peremptory challenges in racialized ways, scholars have repeatedly called for the abolishment of peremptory challenges, changes to the Batson framework, modifications to the rules of professional responsibility, and increased disciplinary enforcement and sanctions against those who discriminate during jury selection. The focus of much of the current Batson scholarship assumes that lawyers will inevitably consider race during jury selection and that the …

The Community Prosecutor: Questions Of Professional Discretion, Bruce A. Green, Alafair Burke

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines community prosecuting from an ethics perspective. Our focus is not on prosecutors’ compliance with the disciplinary rules, however. The strategies that have been said to exemplify community prosecuting are almost invariably compliant with disciplinary rules and other aspects of the law governing prosecutors. Rather, we take a broader perspective. Our focus is on how prosecutors exercise discretion in the context of adopting community prosecution strategies. We examine this question from both normative and procedural perspectives. We propose that the addition of community-based defense lawyers could help mitigate concerns about prosecutorial discretion in community justice programs by broadening …

Exemption Portability May Be A Remedy For Decoupling Problem, Mitchell M. Gans, Jonathan G. Blattmachr

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

With the increase of the federal estate tax exemption and the phase out of the state death credit (which most states took as their estate tax) effected by provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("2001 Tax Act"), the death tax systems of several states became "decoupled" from the federal estate tax system. That has caused problems for many married persons residing in or owning property in these decoupled states. Under current federal legislation, these problems are scheduled to end at the beginning of next year because all of the estate tax changes made by …

Toward A Nexus Of Virtue, Ronald J. Colombo

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Corporate law, like all law, should be directed toward the common good. The common good requires that corporate activity be restrained, if not actively directed, by human virtue. An analysis of the corporate enterprise suggests that those corporate actors with the greatest stake in the exercise of virtue, and best positioned to influence corporate activity via the exercise of virtuous judgment, are the corporation's officers. Thus, one of the primary objectives of corporate law should be to promote virtue among corporate officers.

Contrary to what some might assume, the promotion of virtue among corporate officers need not entail a promulgation …

The Oil Pollution Act's Provisions On Damages For Economic Loss, David W. Robertson

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

United States House Elections Post-Citizens United: The Influence Of Unbridled Spending, Laura L. Gaffey

Honors Projects

After the Citizens United decision in 2010 allowed corporations and unions to spend freely in elections, much media attention was given to the influence of unlimited and undisclosed donations during the 2010 midterm elections. This research attempts to determine the impact of increased outside spending by super PACs and other groups post-Citizens United by comparing United States House races in 2006 and 2010. The analysis controls for other factors that influence election outcomes in order to determine the influence of outside spending, confirming that outside money did have a small measurable effect in both elections when spent to support challengers. …

Ma In Public Relations: Foundation In Community Based Research, Catherine Bates, Edward Brennan

Posters

The Foundations in Community Based Research module, the first of its kind in Ireland, allows MA students to work in small groups, each with a community partner, to design, plan, carry out and report on a piece of primary research which the community partner requires, with a focus on public relations research.

A Simulation Analysis Of Photovoltaic Ac Module Integrated Converters In Parallel, Under Controlled Edge Shading Conditions, Lynette O'Callaghan, Mick Mckeever, Brian Norton

Conference Papers

A DC and AC power simulation comparison of: a Photovoltaic (PV) array with a modular, parallel, AC converter configuration; and a series, string configuration with a central AC converter, is presented. The systems are simulated using a comprehensive range of edge shading scenarios and irradiance conditions. Power control and transformation circuitry must be designed for shade and module mismatch tolerance to prevent over-proportional power to shade losses, as average losses from Building Integrated PV (BIPV) systems are approximately 20 to 25%, due to shade, mismatch, differences in orientation and inclination, and temperature effects. 59.4% of the simulations showed gains in …

Portable Bridge Wim Data Collection Strategy For Secondary Roads, Bernard Enright, Cathal Leahy, Eugene J. Obrien, Jennifer Keenahan

Conference papers

A common method of collecting traffic loading data across a large road network is to use a network of permanent pavement-based WIM systems. An alternative is to use one or more portable Bridge Weigh-In-Motion systems which are moved periodically between bridges on the network. To make optimum use of such a system, a suitable data collection strategy is needed to choose locations for the system. This paper describes a number of possible strategies which the authors have investigated for the National Roads Authority in Ireland. The different strategies are examined and their advantages and disadvantages compared. Their effectiveness at detecting …

Occupational Noise Exposure Of Nightclub Bar Employees In Ireland, Gary Henehan, Aoife Kelly, Sara Boyd, Gordon Chambers

Articles

Due to the transposition of the EU Directive 2003/10/EC into Irish Law, the entertainment sector was obligated to comply with the requirements of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Chapter 1 Part 5: Control of Noise at Work since February 2008. Compliance with the Noise Regulations was examined in 9 nightclubs in Ireland. The typical daily noise exposure of 19 bar employees was measured using 2 logging dosimeters and a Type 1 fixed position sound level meter. Physical site inspections identified nightclub noise control measures. Interviews and questionnaires were used to assess the managers and …

Enhanced Refractometer Based On Periodically Tapered Small Core Singlemode Fiber, Pengfei Wang, Gilberto Brambilla, Ming Ding, Timothy Lee, Lin Bo, Yuliya Semenova, Qiang Wu, Gerald Farrell

Articles

Abstract—An all-fiber 1 refractive index (RI) sensor with a 2 simple configuration of periodical tapers is proposed and inves3 tigated experimentally. The proposed fiber RI sensor consists of 4 a small core fiber sandwiched between two standard singlemode 5 fibers, with tapers periodically fabricated along the small core 6 fiber using a focused CO2 laser beam. Such a structure can be 7 used for RI sensing by measuring the dip wavelength shift of 8 the multimode interference within the small core fiber cladding. 9 An average sensitivity of 226.6 nm/RIU (RI Unit) has been 10 experimentally achieved in the RI …

A Note On Horner's Method, Tian-Xiao He, P. J.-S. Shiue

Scholarship

Here we present an application of Horner's method in evaluating the sequence of Stirling numbers of the second kind. Based on the method, we also give an e_cient way to calculate the diference sequence and divided diference sequence of a polynomial, which can be applied in the Newton interpolation. Finally, we survey all of the results in Proposition 1.4.

Eulerian Polynomials And B-Splines, Tian-Xiao He

Scholarship

Here presented is the interrelationship between Eulerian polynomials, Eulerian fractions and Euler-Frobenius polynomials, Euler-Frobenius fractions, B-splines, respectively. The properties of Eulerian polynomials and Eulerian fractions and their applications in B-spline interpolation and evaluation of Riemann-zeta function values at odd integers are given. The relation between Eulerian numbers and B-spline values at knot points are also discussed.

Using Quest3d To Develop Ves: A Tool For Enhancing Electrical Safety And Design In The Built Environment, Martin Barrett, Jonathan Blackledge

Conference papers

This paper presents a novel desktop virtual reality model titled Virtual Electrical Services (VES), developed to enhance electrical safety and design in the built environment. The model developed using Quest3D has the potential to be used as an industry design tool or as an educational tool for third level students and represents a significant watershed in how electrical services engineers can potentially design buildings and interpret their design decisions. A description of the software development process of the virtual reality model is presented along with the applications that were developed within the model. Based on the early implementation of this …