Digital Commons Network^™

Can Dna Be Speech?, Jorge R. Roig

Scholarly Works

DNA is generally regarded as the basic building block of life itself. In the most fundamental sense, DNA is nothing more than a chemical compound, albeit a very complex and peculiar one. DNA is an information-carrying molecule. The specific sequence of base pairs contained in a DNA molecule carries with it genetic information, and encodes for the creation of particular proteins. When taken as a whole, the DNA contained in a single human cell is a complete blueprint and instruction manual for the creation of that human being. In this article we discuss myriad current and developing ways in which …

“Ev’Ry American Experiment Sets A Precedent”: Why One Florida State Court’S Bitcoin Opinion Is Everyone’S Business, Allison Caffarone, Meg Holzer

Scholarly Works

Part I of this article seeks to explain in largely non-technical terms the design of the Bitcoin network. Part II explains the guidance and administrative rulings provided by the United States Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in relation to the issues in the Espinoza case. Additionally, Part II surveys different approaches taken by state legislatures and regulators in seeking to address decentralized virtual currencies, including bitcoin. Careful attention is paid to how the terms "monetary value" and "virtual currency" are defined, and how those definitions have been interpreted. Part II further explores the differences in the way …

"Life Beyond Life": Reading Milton's Areopagitica Through Enlightenment Vitalism, Erik L. Johnson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

A Story Of Three Bank-Regulatory Legal Systems: Contract, Financial Management Regulation, And Fiduciary Law, Tamar Frankel

Faculty Scholarship

How should banks be regulated to avoid their failure? Banks must control the risks they take with depositors' money. If depositors lose their trust in their banks, and demand their money, the banks will fail. This article describes three legal bank regulatory systems: Contract with depositors (U.S.); a mix of contract and trust law, but going towards trust (Japan), and a full trust-fiduciary law regulating banks (Israel). The article concludes that bank regulation, which limits the banks' risks and conflicts of interest, helps create trustworthy banks that serve their country best.

Law And Project Finance, Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, Frederick Tung

Faculty Scholarship

We investigate Project Finance as a private response to inefficiencies created by weak legal protection of outside investors. We offer a new illustration that law matters by demonstrating that for large investment projects, Project Finance provides a contractual and organizational substitute for investor protection laws. Project Finance accomplishes this by making cash flows verifiable through two mechanisms: (i) contractual arrangements made possible by structuring the project within a single, discrete entity legally separate from the sponsor; and (ii) private enforcement of these contracts through a network of project accounts that ensures lender control of project cash flows. Comparing bank loans …

Clinical Legal Education's Contribution To Building Constitutionalism And Democracy In South Africa: Past, Present, And Future, Peggy Maisel, Shaheda Mahomed, Meetali Jain

Faculty Scholarship

Clinical Legal Education (“CLE”) courses were first introduced in South Africa nearly fifty years ago. Since then, their role has changed from addressing legal problems perpetrated by an oppressive system, to strengthening South Africa’s transition to democracy. The end of apartheid has been accompanied by a transition of focus from private law to public law. South Africa currently has seventeen public universities, each of which has a law faculty and a legal clinic. Many clinical programs’ missions are primarily dedicated to community service and providing access to justice.

Although CLE programs have undertaken some human rights and law reform work, …

If Corporations Are People, Why Can’T They Play Tag?, Cody Jacobs

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court’s decision in Burnham v. Superior Court — despite producing a splintered vote with no opinion garnering a majority of the Court — made one thing clear: an individual defendant can be subject to personal jurisdiction simply by being served with process while he or she happens to be in a forum regardless of whether the defendant has any contacts with that forum. This method of acquiring personal jurisdiction is called transient or “tag” jurisdiction. Tag jurisdiction is older than minimum contacts jurisdiction, and used to be the primary method for determining whether an out of state defendant …

Instrumental And Transformative Medical Technologies, Nicole Huberfeld

Faculty Scholarship

This Article considers how medical technologies impact universality in health care. The universality principle, as embodied in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (A CA), eliminated widespread discriminatory practices and provided financial assistance to those otherwise unable to become insured a democratizing federal act that was intended to stabilize health care policy nationwide. This Article posits that medical technology, as with all of medicine, can be universalizing or exclusionary and that this status roughly correlates to its being "instrumental technology" or "transformative technology." Instrumental technology acts as a tool of medicine and often serves an existing aspect of health …

Beyond Lifestyle: Governing The Social Determinants Of Health, Wendy K. Mariner

Faculty Scholarship

Non-communicable and chronic diseases have overtaken infectious diseases as the major causes of death and disability around the world. Despite recognition that reduction in the chronic disease burden will require governance systems to address the social determinants of health, most public health recommendations emphasize individual behavior as the primary cause of illness and the target of intervention. This Article argues that focusing on lifestyle can backfire, by increasing health inequities and inviting human rights violations. If States fail to take meaningful steps to alter the social and economic structures that create health risks and encourage unhealthy behavior, health at the …

Reducing Wasteful Incarcerations, Christopher Robertson, Jamie Cox Robertson

Faculty Scholarship

Prisons are essential to a safe and civil society. Prisons are also costly for the taxpayers whose government houses, feeds, medicates, and supervises millions of people underlock and key.This expense is compounded by errors in the u.S. legal system that produces both false guilty verdicts and overly harsh penalties. It’stime forthe united States to take a closer look at these unnecessary incarcerations. By working to release prisoners who don’t belong in prison, we can lower the costs of the prison system—not to mention restore freedom to people who are wrongly being deprived of it. unfortunately, it is difficult to identify …

Big Legal History And The Hundred Year Test, David J. Seipp

Faculty Scholarship

The generation of legal historians working in the opening decades of the twenty-first century have an opportunity to use digital technology to bring the sources of legal history to a wider audience of scholars and to facilitate the research of future scholars for many generations to come. I say this because, commencing in 1999, I compiled a searchable database of identifying information about and content of the 22,318 reports in the Year Books, cases decided in England's courts of common law between 1268 and 1535. With the generous support and sponsorship of the Ames Foundation, my database has become an …

Reading Habits Of Users As Determinants Of The Utilisation Of Library Information Resources Of Two Public Libraries In South- West, Nigeria, Olubunmi Olawumi Awoyemi Mrs, Abimbola Rukayat Yusuf Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper examined reading habits of users as determinants of the utilisation of library information resources in two public libraries in South-west, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research method and utilized questionnaire to generate data for the study.

Five research questions were presented for the study. Pearson product moment correlation and regression analysis were used to test hypotheses one at 0.05 level of significance. The result shows that there is a significant relationship between reading habits of users and utilisation of information resources of the selected public libraries in South-west, Nigeria.

The study concluded that many of the …

A Phenomenological Study Examining The Experiences Of High School Graduates Who Participated In A Career And Technical Education Program Of Study, Camille Goins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are designed to help prepare students to become effective workers by equipping them with college and career readiness skills needed for the 21st century workplace. Students who participate in a CTE Program of Study (POS) have the potential for greater success during and after high school because they have achieved academic success in meeting the college and career readiness targets that lead to success in post-secondary and career training. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of graduates from one high school in the southwest region of North Carolina who …

Federalism Form And Function In The Detroit Bankruptcy, Melissa B. Jacoby

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Shaping Expectations About Dads As Caregivers: Toward An Ecological Approach, Holning S. Lau

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Contract Law And Ukraine's $3 Billion Debt To Russia, W. Mark C. Weidemaier

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Making Of Seaside’S “Indian Place”: Contested And Enduring Native Spaces On The Nineteenth Century Oregon Coast, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

During the mid nineteenth century, non-Native settlement and activities disrupted and changed historic Chinook and Clatsop communities at the mouth of the Columbia River. Indian Place in what would be Seaside, Oregon, became home to a number of displaced peoples and an enclave where “the living gathered with the remains of the dead,” for “modest protection from the apocalyptic changes that so radically disrupted tribal lands, lives, and worldviews.” Douglas Deur documents tribal migration to the Indian Place during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and calls attention to many of its significant early residents. Transitional communities such as …

Developing Agritourism In The Caribbean: Critical Ethnography And Sustainable Landscape Design To Improve The Human Experience At Letan Bossier, Haiti, Kristen Maria Lonon

LSU Master's Theses

The Letan Bossier, Haiti community is in need of continued investment from international agencies, in an effort to improve conditions for locals, along with shaping the experience of the tourist, at and around an attractive natural basin, three miles north-west of Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti, at about 187 meters above sea level. In order to improve one’s journey through this mountainside community to the Grand Basin, capital investments must be made. The goal of the proposed design solutions is to solve for the locals first, in turn, attracting tourists to experience a space that’s supported by its own people. The goal of …

Cuban Routes Of Avant-Garde Theatre: Havana, New York, Miami, 1965-1991., Eric Mayer-Garcia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation interrogates how the movement of artists between Havana, New York, and Miami shaped experimental theatre aesthetics, formed a shared discourse of theatrical thought, and introduced a particular vein of experimental practices into U.S. American avant-garde theatre, especially as it intersects with U.S. Latina/o theatre and LGBTQ theatre. I interrogate the theatre history of these three cities as horizontal and contiguous, challenging historical narratives of U.S. American neocolonial dominance and superiority, as well as narratives of diaspora that position Havana as an authentic origin. The central contribution of my dissertation is to synthesize the archival evidence that documents connections …

Slaying Contingent Beneficiaries, Kevin Bennardo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Strangely Familiar History Of The Unitary Theory Of Perpetration, James G. Stewart

All Faculty Publications

A unitary theory of perpetration is one that does not espouse different legal standards for different forms of participating in crime. In this Article, I pay homage to Professor Damaška’s influence on my work and career by reiterating my earlier arguments for a unitary theory of perpetration in international criminal law. Whereas my earlier work defended the unitary theory in abstract terms then for international criminal law in particular, this Article looks to the history of the unitary theory in five national systems that have abandoned differentiated systems like that currently in force internationally in favor of a unitary variant. …

The Role Of Courts In Assisting Individuals In Realizing Their S. 2(B) Right To Information About Court Proceedings, Graham Reynolds

All Faculty Publications

In this paper, I argue that Canadian courts ought to take all reasonable steps to assist individuals in fully realizing their s. 2(b) right to information about court proceedings, both by providing individuals with online access to information about court proceedings (directly and by partnering with third parties), and by implementing policies on the use of electronic devices in courts that minimize restrictions on the ability of individuals and news media to disseminate information about court proceedings to the public. This paper will proceed as follows. I will begin by establishing that individuals are entitled, under s. 2(b) of the …

Implementing Kentucky’S College Readiness Agenda: An Organizational Perspective Of Policy Implementation, Todd Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Nearly two-thirds of undergraduate college students within the United States fail to graduate within six years because they are unprepared for postsecondary education. Thus, many states have embarked on policy reform movements centered on college and career readiness for all high school graduates. This study focused on Kentucky’s efforts to implement four key initiatives—accelerated learning, secondary interventions, college and career readiness advising, and persistence to graduation—resulting from sweeping reform policies enacted in 2009 by the Kentucky General Assembly. The study considers policy implementation from an organizational perspective and explores the structural characteristics associated with effective policy implementation at the school …

Technology In A Gifted And Talented Math Classroom: How It Impacts Students' Problem Solving And Mathematical Learning, Brandon H. French

Theses and Dissertations--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

Technology has advanced greatly over the past few decades and the surge in the industry has impacted the workplace. As a result, K-12 education has worked to integrate 21^st century skills into curriculum. Many times this is through STEM classes. This study examined the impact technology had on gifted and talented students’ achievement and creative construction. During a unit on Transformations, a control group received traditional instruction, while an experimental group received traditional instruction with an added technology component. A pre and posttest were given to both groups to measure student success with the geometry content. Results indicated that …

What’S In A Gene: Undergraduates’ Ideas And Misconceptions About Gene Function, Justin M. Levaughn

Theses and Dissertations--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

The purpose of this study was to field test a two-tiered instrument including multiple-choice and short answer tasks to assess college students’ ideas and level of understanding in genetics. The instrument was constructed from previously tested assessment tasks and findings from the current research literature. Ninety-seven freshmen enrolled in a biology lab course were surveyed. Test validity and reliability were measured using Chronbach coefficients. Multiple-choice and short answer responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics to identify frequencies of answer selections. Written responses were independently evaluated using a five-point scoring rubric by three researchers to identify common misconceptions revealed in students’ …

Student Authored Digital Games As Authentic Learning: Using The Can You Create A Game Challenge In Elementary Classrooms, Mary Leanna Prater

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This embedded single-case study examined an elementary classroom implementation of a digital game authoring challenge aligned with state mandated content standards. Teachers used the game challenge over four 50 minute class periods during a three month period of time. A total of twenty five (n=25) 4th grade students, nine (n=9) 5th grade students and three (n=3) STEM teachers participated in the study.

The central research question for this study is: How do elementary teachers use a game challenge specifically aligned with Common Core/Next Generation Science (NGSS) state standards for instruction? Qualitative data, drawn from participating teacher interviews, classroom observations, student …

A Debriefing Technique In High-Fidelity Patient Simulation And Competent Decision-Making Abilities Among Nursing Students, Trena Seago

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

Nursing faculty are utilizing high-fidelity patient simulation (HPS) with debriefing to help engage nursing students in making competent clinical decisions. This quasi-experimental study examined the use of HPS with debriefing and students’ ability to make nursing care decisions using standardized exams. The experimental group received debriefing after HPS and the control group did not receive debriefing after HPS. The pre- and post-test assessed participants’ ability to make clinical care decisions. The analysis of the pre-test and post-test HESI scores showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups.

The Role And Impact Of School Nurses And Intentions To Delegate Diabetes-Related Tasks Amidst Budget Cuts And Legislative Changes, Michelle J. Lineberry

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

As the percentage of school children with chronic conditions such as diabetes continues to rise, funding for school nurses to keep those students healthy and safe is decreasing. This dissertation includes three studies: (1) a systematic review of the literature on the role and impact of American elementary school nurses, (2) a focus group study that further examined the role of Kentucky school nurses and described their reaction to a new regulation that necessitates delegation of diabetes-related nursing tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP), and (3) a quantitative study that examined Kentucky school nurses’ past behaviors and future intentions regarding …

Thoughts On American Legal Education: Past, Present And Future, Marc D. Falkoff

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

As a professor and administrator at a public law school, I have witnessed firsthand widespread changes in the legal market for our graduates, and I have observed how that transformation has affected how and what we teach our students. Some of the disruption in the legal market was undoubtedly hastened by the Great Recession. But the truth is that law firms had already turned to computer programs for document review, were increasingly relying on contract lawyers, and had begun outsourcing legal work to India and the Philippines well before the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Moreover, innovations like Legal …

Linking Abusive Supervision To Employee Engagement And Exhaustion, Melinda L. Scheuer, James P. Burton, Larissa K. Barber, Lisa M. Finkelstein, Christopher P. Parker

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

This research extends the differentiated job demands-resource model by integrating the main propositions of the transactional theory of stress to examine how cognitive appraisal processes link employee perceptions of abusive supervision to engagement and exhaustion. Two studies were conducted using a broad sample of employees. Study 1 developed the abusive supervision demand appraisal measure (ABSDAM). Study 2 examined the role that challenge or hindrance demand appraisals play in employee reactions to perceptions of abusive supervision. Study 1 determined the ABSDAM was a valid means to measure how employees appraise abusive supervision as a challenge and/or hindrance demand. Study 2 found …