Digital Commons Network^™

Concentration In Health Care Markets: Chronic Problems And Better Solutions, Barak D. Richman

Faculty Scholarship

Health care providers with market power enjoy substantially more pricing freedom than monopolists in other markets, for a reason not generally recognized: US-style health insurance. Consequently, monopolies in health care cause undesirable redistribution of wealth and inefficient allocation of resources, both of which burden consumers at levels beyond those of other monopolists. The unusual costliness of monopoly power in health care markets demands far more policy attention than it has received. For starters, the health sector needs a more aggressive antitrust policy that effectively prevents the creation of new provider market power through mergers, alliances, or government immunity. An immediate …

Freedom Of Expression And Its Competitors, George C. Christie

Faculty Scholarship

The recognition of an increasing number of basic human rights, such as in the European Convention on Human Rights, has had the paradoxical effect of requiring courts in the common-law world to consider whether the extensive protection given by the common law to expression that was not false or misleading must be modified to accommodate these newly recognized basic rights. The most important of these newly recognized rights is the right of privacy, although expression has other competitors as well, such as what might be called a right to be spared the emotional trauma caused by abusive language. This article …

Case Management In The Circuit Courts, Marin K. Levy

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Is Now The Time For Major Federal Sentencing Reform?, Sara Sun Beale

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Book Review, Samuel W. Buell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Qui Tam: Is False Claims Law A Model For International Law?, Paul D. Carrington

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Services Liberalization In The Philippines: A Capacity Needs Assessment For Aec 2015, Fernando T. Aldaba, Rafaelita M. Aldaba

Economics Department Faculty Publications

The paper aims to assess and determine the capacity-building needs required to liberalize trade in services in the Philippines. Through the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services, the Philippines has committed to liberalize various sectors including air transport, maritime transport, construction, financial services, and telecommunications. The overall progress of services liberalization has been modest compared to trade in goods due mainly to constitutional restrictions, limitations on market access, and application of the national treatment principle. Apart from these constitutional and legal constraints, the other obstacles to services liberalization include high cost of doing business, inadequate infrastructure, and governance issues affecting the …

United States Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Integrity Policy

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

United States Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Integrity Policy (2012).

Going Outside The Law: The Role Of The State In Shaping Attitudes To Private Acts Of Violence, Tom R. Tyler, Jonathan Jackson, Aziz Huq, Ben Bradford

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Why do people believe that violence is acceptable? In this paper we study people’s normative beliefs about the acceptability of violence to achieve social control (as a substitute for the police, for self-protection and the resolution of disputes) and social change (through violent protests and acts to achieve political goals). Addressing attitudes towards violence among young men from various ethnic minority communities in London, we find that procedural justice is strongly correlated with police legitimacy, and that positive judgments about police legitimacy predicts more negative views about the use of violence. We conclude with the idea that police legitimacy has …

Finding International Law, Part Ii: Our Fragmenting Legal Community, Harlan G. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

Is there an “International Community?” This Article suggests that there is not, that the oft-discussed fragmentation of international law reveals that there are in fact multiple overlapping and competing international law communities, each with differing views on law and legitimacy.

This Article reaches this conclusion by taking a fresh look not only at the sources of fragmentation, but at the sources of international law itself. Building on earlier work rethinking international law’s sources and drawing insights from legal philosophy, compliance theory, and international relations, this Article takes a closer look at three areas that have challenged traditional interpretations of international …

When Is Artification?, Roberta Shapiro, Nathalie Heinich

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

How do people do or make things that come to be seen as works of art? In other words, when is there artification? The answer to this question is simultaneously symbolic, material, and contextual. It has to do with meanings, objects, interaction, and institutions. We seek to define not what art is nor how it should be considered, but how and under what circumstances it comes about by way of methodical observation and inquiry in a variety of fields. Circus acrobats, break-dancers, fashion designers, chefs, graffiti artists, printers, photographers, and jazz musicians are some of the examples we explore. This …

Artification And The Drawing Of Distinctions: An Analysis Of Categories And Their Uses, Kari Korolainen

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

The aim of the article is to examine how we distinguish between art, decoration, and furnishing within a research interview. The interview specimens here are examined by adapting the ethnomethodologically oriented method of Membership Categorization Analysis. The results indicate that the speakers rely, for example, on the context of the interview situation and also use flexible logical means, such as conditioning and comparison, to make the discussed issues more comprehensive. The results of the analysis are interpreted in the context of artification, emphasizing in particular the notion of the situated process of categorical resiliency.

Disturbing The Power Equilibrium: How Notions Of Private And Public Construct The Lesbian Educator In The American School System, Lillian Petrovich Brandt

Dissertations

Educational institutions are places permeated with the dominant social ideology and are sites for social reproduction; that is, the American school socially reproduces the white, male heteronormativity of the American public life. These dominant institutions perpetuate privilege for some, but not for others who are not represented in the dominant discourse. At times rendered invisible and private inside the school, a lesbian educator, may, in fact, be visible and public outside the school. There is a paucity of research on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) educators, yet queer educators exist in the school setting in which a "don't ask …

Serine 910 Phosphorylation Of Focal Adhesion Kinase Is Critical For Costamere Assembly, Miensheng Chu

Dissertations

Tyrosine-phosphorylated FAK is required for the hypertrophic response of cardiomyocytes to growth factors and mechanical load, but the role of FAK serine phosphorylation in this process is unknown. Endothelin-1 (ET-1; 1-100nM, 2-30min) and other hypertrophic factors induced a time- and dose-dependent increase in FAK-S910 phosphorylation in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM). FAK-S910 phosphorylation required ET_AR-dependent activation of PKCδ and Src via parallel Raf-1→MEK1/2→ERK1/2 and MEK5→ERK5 signaling pathways. Using co-immunoprecipitation, TIRF-microscopy and FRAP, ET-1 stimulation of NRVM expressing a nonphosphorylatable, S910A-FAK mutant decreased the interaction of paxillin and vinculin within costameres. This interaction was important in stabilizing α-actinin within …

How Do Secondary Science Teachers Understand And Implement Technological Design In Their Classrooms?, Kathryn H. Heroux

Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined how ten secondary science teachers from a variety of different schools around the country understand and implement technological design in their classrooms. The results of this study indicate that these teachers were drawn to the tenets of technological design because of its inherent challenge to their own pedagogical strategies, and its ability to stimulate and motivate their students. The future of science education with respect to technological design is examined, and compared with the standards that will emerge in the new science standards soon to be finalized and circulated.

Modernism En Vogue: Popular Periodicals And Their Engagement With Modernist Culture, Natalie Kalich

Dissertations

My project investigates commercial magazines from the 1920s, including, The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Vogue, and Vanity Fair to reveal the frequency with which modernist writers contributed to these periodicals and the extent to which editors of these magazines found modernist discourse marketable to larger audiences, thereby undermining the assumption that modernists only spoke to a coterie audience. Furthermore, by investigating the similarities present in discourse on modernism and developments in popular culture such as jazz and film in a commercial context, I expand and complicate constructions of modernist and popular culture from both sides of the cultural …

Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Chemokine Receptor Cxcr4 Signaling And Trafficking, Rohit Malik

Dissertations

CXCR4 is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that binds to the chemokine, stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1alpha; a.k.a. CXCL12). The SDF-1alpha/CXCR4 signaling axis plays an essential role during embryogenesis in the development of the heart, brain and vasculature and in the adult mediating immune cell trafficking and stem cell homing to the bone marrow. Dysregulation of SDF-1alpha/CXCR4 signaling is linked to several pathological conditions, including cardiovascular disease, immunological disorders as well as cancer growth and metastasis. However, the mechanisms that govern CXCR4 signaling remain poorly understood. In this dissertation project, we attempt to further our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that …

Receptor-Mediated Hypertrophic Signaling Via Protein Kinase D And Histone Deacetylase 5 In Adult Myocytes, Chia-Wei Jenny Chang

Dissertations

Hemodynamic stress and neurohumoral signaling are common causes of cardiac hypertrophy. These extrinsic stress stimuli typically act on GPCR and induce a cascade of signal transduction to re-program terminally differentiated myocytes to grow in length or width. The compensatory hypertrophic response can enhance cardiac output briefly due to increased work load. However, prolonged stress results in maladaptive changes in the heart and gradually deteriorates ventricular function to supply blood throughout the body. Sustained hypertrophic signaling can also progress toward heart failure.

My dissertation research focuses on the hypertrophic signaling in adult cardiac myocytes in response to neurohumoral stimuli, ET-1 and …

Superintendent's Perceptions Of Adequacy In Illinois School Finance, Mark Alan Cohen

Dissertations

This qualitative research study investigated superintendents' perceptions of school finance in the State of Illinois. An online survey instrument, distributed via email, was used to collect the results. Superintendents that chose to participate answered questions about themselves as well as the demographic variables of the district they represent. The participants then went on to answer the finance survey questions. Responses to the finance survey were triangulated with the particular demographic information, much of which was separated into quartiles. The study sought to determine the answers to the following questions: (1) Do public school K-12 superintendents believe that they have sufficient …

The Development Of Science Identity: An Evaluation Of Youth Development Programs At The Museum Of Science And Industry, Chicago, Sam Cole

Dissertations

The following dissertation presents findings from a year-long evaluation of informal scientific education programs at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. Science identity, rather than scientific knowledge, was the analytic lens through which the programs' effectiveness was assessed. A goal of the Museum generally, and the programs specifically, is to increase public identification with the field of science. Science identity was assessed using a novel survey instrument and three focus groups. Hierarchical linear models found a positive relationship between time enrolled in the Science Minors program and the development of science identity. These analyses also point to …

In Search Of Resilience And Positive Health Outcomes In Low-Income Adolescents With Asthma, Darla Kim Dewolff

Dissertations

Asthma is a chronic lung disease of epidemic proportions affecting 24.6 million Americans, including 7.0 million children. In particular, 22% of high school students indicated a doctor or a nurse had told them that they had asthma, with 10.8% with current asthma. The disease disproportionately afflicts minority children from low-income areas. Adolescents with asthma, who live in such areas, are at particular risk for increased morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which the phenomenon of resilience, observed in other physical health and psycho-social contexts, may be found in adolescents with asthma exposed …

Coping Mechanisms Among Lebanese First-Time College Students, Rita Doumit

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Functional Communication Training (Fact) On The Communicative, Self-Initiated Toileting Behavior For Students With Developmental Disabilities In A School Setting, Jinnie Kim

Dissertations

Far less is known about the effects of functional communication-based toileting interventions for students with developmental disabilities in a school setting. Furthermore, the currently available toileting interventions for students with disabilities include some undesirable procedures such as the use of punishment, unnatural clinic/university settings as opposed to more natural school/home settings, and prompt-based as opposed to communicative, self-initiating skills. The current study examined the effectiveness of FCT on the incidence of communicative, self-initiated toileting and of toileting accidents without any punishment components, which were often considered as necessary in traditional toileting procedures. A multiple baseline design was used for the …

Wet Chicago: Prohibition And The Development Of The Informal Alcohol Economy, Brian Doumeth Jolet

Dissertations

The Prohibition-era presents a story of both continuity and change. While the illegal alcohol manufacturing and selling that occurred during the period was not an aberration from the past, the resultant increased wealth and sway of the criminal underworld and the increasing disrespect for the law were new transformations. This dissertation seeks to understand the informal economy in alcohol by examining the multitude of men and women who participated in this black market in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The analysis describes the movement from small-time bootleggers operating within a narrow market to the development of a complex and hierarchical …

The Role Of Cyp33 In Mll Mediated Gene Repression, Steven D. Poppen

Dissertations

Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) is a multidomain protein whose gene is translocated in a subset of AML leukemias. Translocation of the MLL gene is present in approximately five percent of adult acute leukemias and ten percent of pediatric leukemias (Daser, A 2004, Look, A 1997, Huret, J 2001) Patients presenting in the clinic at the time of diagnosis with an MLL fusion have been shown to respond poorly to treatment and have a worse prognosis than matched wild type MLL patients (Rubnitz, J 1994, Rubnitz, J 1999). Novel therapies therefore are needed in order to more effectively treat patients with …

The Road To Virtue And The Road To Fortune: The Scottish Enlightenment And The Problem Of Individualism In Commercial Society, Sarah Ramirez

Dissertations

As commercial society began to emerge in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe, it was widely thought to be inherently individualistic--whether such individualism was viewed as a strength, in the Mandevillean view, or as a weakness, by the civic humanists. Five thinkers from the Scottish Enlightenment--Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, and John Millar--confronted this problem. First, they questioned whether some aspects of individualism constitute genuine problems at all. For instance, their analysis of conspicuous consumption or luxury indicated that it could inspire an individual's virtue by sensitizing him to the beautiful and the fitting. Second, they pointed out that …

A Case Study: The Impact Of An Immersion Experience On The Vocation Of Lay Teacher-Leaders In American Jesuit High Schools, Martin Joseph Schreiber

Dissertations

The purpose of this case study explores the impact of an immersion experience to a least developed country on the vocation of lay teacher leaders in American Jesuit High Schools. Nine lay teacher leaders engaged in a four stage process of immersion from November 2009 to August 2010. The study employed the conceptual framework of Edward Hahnenberg's, "Awakening Vocation" to develop a self-understanding of a lay teacher leader's call. The writings of Paulo Freire, Fredrick Buechner and Parker Palmer informed the study's exploration of vocation. Poetry from Mary Oliver and William Stafford functioned as a method for articulating a lay …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Influence Of Racism On Identity Development For African American Adolescent Males, John Corey Steele

Dissertations

The life circumstances facing African American adolescent males are reported with a fair amount of frequency by numerous media outlets in our society. Reports generally communicate negative circumstances facing African American adolescent males in the educational, economic, social, and political arenas. These sorts of life experiences have the potential to have a tremendous impact on the lives and development, particularly identity developmental process of young African American men; however, few research efforts have been devoted to specifically exploring the identity development process of African American adolescent males. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the meaning of being …

An Exploratory Evaluation Of A Culturally Specific Model Of Psychological Well-Being For An African American Population, Kyle J. Telander

Dissertations

Research related to eudaimonic or psychological well-being (PWB) has relied heavily upon the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB), a rationally developed multidimensional measure intended to assess the extent to which individuals are achieving their optimal potential over the lifespan. However, questions remain regarding the proposed dimensional structure of the SPWB, as well as the extent to which the measure is situated within a specific, Eurocentric cultural context. This study sought to explore the factor structure of the 42-item version of the SPWB when combined with items measuring constructs relevant to African Americans, including communalism, spirituality/religiosity, and critical consciousness. Utilizing a …

Leadership Team Actions That Manifest Collective Autonomy And Their Impact On Student Growth And Curriculum, Brian Keith Wegley

Dissertations

To be successful in the age of accountability, principals and all school leaders need to continue to build their capacity to lead meaningful, systemic and sustainable student improvement efforts that incorporate the required areas of reading and mathematics. A review of the educational literature revealed several studies that identified the limitations of America's current school accountability movement and described the narrowing of curriculum as a negative side effect of No Child Left Behind.

Educational research on leadership included a multitude of studies and leadership models for implementing change; this study focused on ideas contained within Zmuda, Kuklis and Kline's (2004) …