What's Coming For Class Actions,, Zoe Niesel

Faculty Articles

A trio of cases before the Supreme Court in its current term has the potential to dramatically impact the ability of plaintiffs to bring class actions. By taking up Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, Spokeo v. Robins, and Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez, the Court could be signaling that a shift against class actions is underway which could have significant consequences for plaintiffs seeking class certification.

Recently, in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, Comcast v. Behrend, and AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, the Court handed down decisions that increased the burden on plaintiffs' attorneys to show issues and damages common to all plaintiffs in the proposed …

Strategic And Tactical Totalization In The Totalitarian Epoch, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

This article examines the totalization of private law by public authorities. It compares and contrasts the fate of private law in totalitarian regimes with the role of private law in contemporary, non-totalitarian liberal democracies. It briefly examines the Socialist jurisprudence of the former Soviet Union and its treatment of private law. It offers an explanation why private law might be inimical to the jurisprudence of the Soviet Union and totalitarian regimes more generally. It next examines the totalization of law accomplished by segregationist regimes in the mid-twentieth century, comparing and contrasting those regimes with totalitarian regimes. Then it turns to …

The Development Of Legal Rights In The American Legal System, Roberto Rosas

Faculty Articles

This article takes a snapshot of some of the most controversial topics in American society today and the juridical response to these topics by individual states, the United States Congress, and the United States Supreme Court. Although there are numerous legal topics that deserve mention and analysis, this article is limited to the discussion of nine fairly new rights created by state and federal laws. The rights discussed in this article include the following: 1) The right to open carry a firearm; 2) The right to consume marijuana; 3) The right to marry or to civil unions between same-sex couples; …

Forgetting Nature: The Importance Of Including Environmental Flows In International Water Agreements, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

From the moment States created political boundaries to define their territory, they have shared water. There are 263 transboundary lake and river basins worldwide and 300 known transboundary aquifer systems. Whenever sharing is present, the opportunity for conflict is too. Climate change and increasing population are only two factors that may lead to increasing conflict if attention is not given to these situations. Thankfully, sharing water also creates an opportunity for cooperation. Throughout the world, there are increasing examples of conflict and cooperation regarding shared water resources. International water agreements can promote regional peace and security and encourage economic growth. …

Time To Repair The Chain: Void Deeds, Subsequent Purchasers, And The Texas Recording Statutes, Richard E. Flint

Faculty Articles

Throughout the history of Texas jurisprudence, the Texas Supreme Court has often made clear and concise pronouncements that a rule of law was to apply in all cases that fell under the parameters of that rule, as well as exceptions to the application of these legal rules in situations where the application would perpetrate a fraud or would be inequitable. In several situations, Texas courts applied equitable principles to protect a subsequent purchaser in spite of the existence of a void deed in the chain of title. However, the court in Texas Department of Transportation v. A.P.I. Pipe & Supply, …

Opting Out In The Name Of God: Will Lawyers Be Compelled To Handle Same-Sex Divorces?, Bill Piatt

Faculty Articles

In June of 2015, the United States Supreme Court determined by a 5–4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have a constitutionally guaranteed right to marry. While this represents a momentous victory for homosexuals, many people are still vehemently opposed to the idea. Homosexuality is especially frowned upon in certain religions, including some sects of Christianity. Is it possible that attorneys who decline on religious grounds to provide legal services to same-sex individuals seeking divorces will be ordered to provide that representation? Might those attorneys be sanctioned if they fail to do so? These are both novel and …

First Amendment--Student Speech--Why Bell Tolls A Review Of Tinker's Application To Off-Campus Online Student Speech, Katherine E. Geddes

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Finding A Balance Between Securing Confidentiality And Preserving Court Transparency: A Re-Visit Of Rule 76a And Its Application To Unfiled Discovery, The Honorable Craig Smith, Grant Schmidt, Austin Smith

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Flushed From The Pocket: Daily Fantasy Sports Businesses Scramble Amidst Growing Legal Concern, Jonathan Bass

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Extraordinary Results In Extraordinary Rendition, Alexander Turner

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Tensile Deformation In Az91 Mg Alloy Castings, Ogun Unal

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tensile deformation characteristics of cast aluminum alloys have been investigated extensively. Cast Mg alloys have remained mostly neglected by researchers, despite their potential for weight savings. This present study is motivated by this gap in the literature and consists of two stages; in Stage 1, analysis of tensile data gathered from literature were reanalyzed, and in Stage 2, data generated from tensile testing of 60 specimens of AZ91 Mg alloy castings in both T4 and T6 conditions were analyzed to characterize work hardening behavior.

In Stage 1, more than 1600 data were collected from the literature for various Mg alloy …

Humanitarian Intervention: Moral Perspectives, Tyrome Clark

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses primary concepts in the humanitarian intervention debates. I argue that humanitarian intervention is a perfect duty. The global community has a moral obligation to act decisively in the face of extreme human rights abuses. There are two contrasting theoretical perspectives regarding international relations and humanitarian intervention: statism and cosmopolitanism. These contrasting perspectives contest the relative value of state sovereignty and human rights. Some of the most prominent ethicists in the debate have determined states have a “right” to intervene militarily in the internal affairs of other states to halt severe human rights abuses but there is no …

The Ultimate Irony: An Information Age Without Librarians, Dawn S. Ady

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the continuing relevance of the profession of librarianship in the digital age is explored and assessed. After defining the library as information itself, the thesis establishes that electronic formats replacing printed matter is not an indication of libraries becoming extinct. Further, various aspects of the profession of librarianship—including library ethics, information extraction skills, and information literacy instruction—are discussed. Additionally, the potential for librarians to play an important role in a largely “jobless” society (as forecast by some experts and scholars as well as in a recent Oxford University study) is evaluated. Finally, a proposal is made for …

Voices Of The First Women Leaders In The Federal Bureau Of Investigation, Ellen Glasser

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study utilized elite, semi-structured interviews of a purposive sample of the first women who became Special Agents and supervisors in the highly gendered Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The historical context for their experiences is significant in light of social and legal mandates for equal opportunity and the increased interest in gender-specific research that took place during the 1970s. Literature relating to feminist perspectives, the integration of women into nontraditional occupations, and the gendered nature of bureaucracy supported the conceptual framework. Guided by educational criticism, four strategies were used recursively: typological analysis was used to define categories of …

The Impact Of Multiple Opportunities For Aggression On Aggressive Thoughts, Behaviors, And Motivations, Kristen Nicole Hull

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Opportunities for aggression occur frequently and unpredictably, but little research to our knowledge has investigated the impact of the mere presence of multiple opportunities on aggression over time. Two studies, one with a Canadian sample (163 participants) and one with an American sample (103 participants) were conducted to analyze the impact of the number of opportunities for aggression on justified and unjustified aggressive thoughts, behaviors, and motivations. Individually, these studies yielded the result that justified aggression remains stable over time, but that unjustified aggression decreases when an individual is given multiple opportunities. Combined, they indicated that justified aggression increased when …

The Mechanics And Fixed Operations Of Human Experience, James Dominick Di Netta

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper will use the natural laws of the universe and amassed evidence to support a dynamic systems theory approach to explain the mechanics and fixed operations of the human experience taking place inside a causally determined universe without the possibility of free will. By reductionary methods, the universe and all its’ contents, including human agents, will be exemplified as complex dynamic systems. In so doing, the human experience is reduced to being comprised of information acting and reacting with other information existing in the universe, specifically ideas. Allowing ideas to take on a physical manifestation shows how the feedback …

Vulnerabililty Analysis Of Multi-Factor Authentication Protocols, Keith Garrett

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the author hypothesizes that the use of computationally intensive mathematical operations in password authentication protocols can lead to security vulnerabilities in those protocols. In order to test this hypothesis: 1. A generalized algorithm for cryptanalysis was formulated to perform a clogging attack (a formof denial of service) on protocols that use computationally intensive modular exponentiation to guarantee security. 2. This technique was then applied to cryptanalyze four recent password authentication protocols, to determine their susceptibility to the clogging attack. The protocols analyzed in this thesis differ in their usage of factors (smart cards, memory drives, etc.) or …

An Examination Of The Perceptions Of Elementary School Principals, General Education Teachers, And Special Education Teachers About Supportive Inclusion Practices And Processes, Ahmed Afia Laroussi

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the perceptions of the school principals, general education teachers, and special education teachers about practices and processes that support the inclusion program. High stake holders in schools and parents of students with disabilities are advocating for the improvement of the quality of the inclusion as an academic service delivery model. This study is significant because the number of students with disabilities being placed in the general education classroom continues to increase, and the federal and the state mandates are holding school districts and schools accountable for all students’ academic performance, including students with disabilities. A …

Memory Traces: Analyzing Sacred Space At Five Mesoamerican Sites, Yumi Park Huntington

Art Inquiries

Book review of Memory Traces: Analyzing Sacred Space at Five Mesoamerican Sites, edited by Cynthia Kristan-Graham and Laura M. Amrhein.

Dancing My Adoptive Identity : An Autoethnographic Analysis Of Adoption Narratives And Performance Of Identity, Montana Jean Smith

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Family storytelling helps individuals make sense of the world around them. Stories not only help people understand their familial relationships, but understand the development of their identity. For adoptive children, family narratives are crucial to the creation of the child’s adoptive identity and how it intersects with the many other identities the child holds. This study considers the construction of identity from the adoptee’s point of view by use of autoethnographic and performance methods.

Using a multi-methodological approach, this thesis uses interactive interviews, autoethnography, and performance methods as a way to assess what narratives are told within an adoptive family …

Corn Stover Biochar In Gypsum Board: Empirical Analysis Of Thermal Conductivity And Flexural Strength, Albena Yordanova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Gypsum board, an economical and durable finish material for wall and ceiling construction in the United States and worldwide, is the component with the lowest thermal performance in a typical exterior wall assembly. It also constitutes a substantial portion of construction waste in landfills, potentially creating harmful environmental effects and dangerous gases. To minimize the negative effects of fast growing construction waste of gypsum in landfills and meet higher standards for energy efficiency in construction, there is a need to explore sustainable ways of improving thermal properties of gypsum board and recycling the material. Gypsum can be recycled and used …

A Follow-Up Of Patient Reported Outcomes In Chronic Plantar Heel Pain Participants Treated With Graston Technique: A Mixed Methods Approach, Troy Richard Garrett

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Chronic Plantar Heel Pain (CPHP), commonly known as “plantar fasciitis,” is a condition that is estimated to affect 10% of the American population. A treatment for CPHP and other soft tissue overuse conditions that is increasing in popularity is the use of metal instruments for deep tissue massage for 10 minutes, twice a week for six weeks, called the Graston Technique.

The purpose of this study is to longitudinally examine the foot pain and function of participants who received Graston Technique treatment approximately two years before this study. A mixed methods design where quantitatively, three self-reported survey instruments were utilized, …

Virtue, Freedom, And The First Amendment, Marc O. Degirolami

Scholarly Articles

The modern First Amendment embodies the idea of freedom as a fundamental good of con- temporary American society. The First Amendment protects and promotes everybody's freedom of thought, belief speech, and religious exercise as basic goods-as given ends of American political and moral life. It does not protect these freedoms for the sake of promoting any particular vision of the virtuous society. It is neutral on that score, setting limits only in those rare cases when the exercise of a First Amendment freedom exacts an intolerable social cost.

Something like this collection of views constitutes the conventional account of the …

Public Enforcement Of Patent Law, Megan M. La Belle

Scholarly Articles

Law enforcement in the modern regulatory state is largely a joint enterprise. In areas such as securities, antitrust, civil rights, and environmental law, enforcement responsibilities are allocated between public and private actors. Patent law, on the other hand, is enforced almost exclusively through private lawsuits. Considering patent law's constitutionally mandated public purpose--“to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts”-- this privatization of patent enforcement is troubling.

In recent years, there has been some movement away from this purely private enforcement scheme for patent law. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, for example, have involved themselves in …

Information Technology And Computer Science Education At St. Patrick’S College In The Republic Of Vanuatu, Timothy R. Ward

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This report examines the role of an Information Technology and Computer Science Education Volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in the Republic of Vanuatu at St. Patrick’s College. Various methods of developing curriculum, training teachers, and teaching classes were used and the results are analyzed. Primarily cultural and logistical challenges and their associated newly discovered approaches are discussed. Some approaches were found to improve Information Technology and Computer Science Education at St. Patrick’s College.

A Wireless Sensor System With Digitally Controlled Signal Conditioning Circuit For Force Monitoring At Bone Fixation Plates, Govindan Suresh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Post-rehabilitation of orthopedic surgery is critical for bone fracture treatments. Current protocols are not based on quantitative assessments of the patient condition but they are conservative estimations mostly based on prior experience and physician’s opinions. While there are quantitative methods for assessing the recovery of orthopedic surgery, they are typically very expensive and provide only snapshots during the healing process. A standalone, reconfigurable, embedded wireless sensor system with digitally controlled signal conditioning system capable of providing continuous monitoring of bone healing is developed. Strain sensor measurements were validated against a commercial mechanical loading instrument for relevant loads that an animal …

Nonlinear Inversion Strategies Applied To Source Characterization And 3d Earthquake Tomography In Volcanic Environments: A Case Study At Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala, Federica Lanza

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Full-waveform moment tensor inversion of volcanic seismic signals and travel-time 3D tomography of local earthquakes have been widely used to explore source processes related to magma transport as well as to image the location and size of magma storage systems. However, the inversion solutions and the associated reliability estimates are non-unique and bear intrinsic uncertainties due to simplifying assumptions about the source, inaccuracies in the velocity models, dependence on network configuration, and other a priori constraints imposed by the modeler.

This work addresses the non-uniqueness and uncertainties of the model results by introducing non-linear inversion techniques that allow sampling the …

Multisensory Cue Congruency In Lane Change Test, Yuanjing Sun

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Nowadays, a driver interacts with multiple systems while driving. Multimodal in-vehicle technologies (e.g., Personal Navigation Devices) intend to facilitate multitasking while driving. Multimodality enables to reduce cognitive effort in information processing, but not always. The present study aims to investigate how/when auditory cues could improve driver responses to a visual target. We manipulated three dimensions (spatial, semantic, and temporal) of verbal and nonverbal cues to interact with visual spatial instructions. Multimodal displays were compared with unimodal (visual-only) displays to see whether they would facilitate or degrade a vehicle control task. Twenty-six drivers participated in the Auditory-Spatial Stroop experiment using a …

Comparative Analysis Of Locally Available Materials For Treadle Pump Seals In Senegal, West Africa, Brennan Tymrak

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

For rural farmers in Senegal, West Africa, pulling water for irrigation can be a laborious but necessary task during the dry season to earn income from vegetable gardening. Traditional water pulling methods are inexpensive but require great physical effort, while modern machines decrease the labor burden but at a high financial cost. This study looked at an intermediate water pulling technology, the treadle pump, and how it could be improved to become more desirable for use in agricultural irrigation. A treadle pump was built and tested during field work in a rural Senegalese village. Observations from field testing prompted a …