Digital Commons Network^™

Imagining The Progressive Prosecutor, Benjamin Levin

Scholarship@WashULaw

As criminal justice reform has attracted greater public support, a new brand of district attorney candidate has arrived: the “progressive prosecutors.” Commentators increasingly have keyed on “progressive prosecutors” as offering a promising avenue for structural change, deserving of significant political capital and academic attention. This essay asks an unanswered threshold question: what exactly is a “progressive prosecutor”? Is that a meaningful category at all, and if so, who is entitled to claim the mantle? In this essay, I argue that “progressive prosecutor” means many different things to many different people. These differences in turn reveal important fault lines in academic …

Principles Of International Law And The Adoption Of A Market-Based Mechanism For Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Shipping, Hillary Aidun, Daniel J. Metzger, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Emissions from shipping are a significant driver of human-induced climate change. International action to date has not succeeded in setting those emissions on a sustainable trajectory. The International Maritime Organization has committed to implementing an effective, international approach to tackle international shipping’s contribution to climate change.

This paper considers international law principles, exploring whether and how these principles may provide a basis for the IMO to address those contributions. The polluter pays principle, which counsels that whoever produces pollution should cover the costs their pollution imposes on others, is a doctrine of international law that offers strong support for the …

Cleaning Corporate Governance, Jens Frankenreiter, Cathy Hwang, Yaron Nili, Eric L. Talley

Faculty Scholarship

Although empirical scholarship dominates the field of law and finance, much of it shares a common vulnerability: an abiding faith in the accuracy and integrity of a small, specialized collection of corporate governance data. In this paper, we unveil a novel collection of three decades’ worth of corporate charters for thousands of public companies, which shows that this faith is misplaced.

We make three principal contributions to the literature. First, we label our corpus for a variety of firm- and state-level governance features. Doing so reveals significant infirmities within the most well-known corporate governance datasets, including an error rate exceeding …

Rbg: Nonprofit Entrepreneur, David M. Schizer

Faculty Scholarship

It is exceedingly rare for one person to change the world almost single-handedly, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of those people. Even before her distinguished judicial career, RBG was a trailblazing advocate for women’s rights during the 1970s. She persuaded the Supreme Court that gender discrimination violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, winning five of the six cases she argued there. To lead this historic effort, RBG served as general counsel of the ACLU and as co-founder and the first director of its Women’s Rights Project from 1972 until she became a judge in 1980. …

Making America A Better Place For All: Sustainable Development Recommendations For The Biden Administration, John C. Dernbach, Scott E. Schang, Robert W. Adler, Karol Boudreaux, John Bouman, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Kimberly Brown, Mikhail Chester, Michael B. Gerrard, Stephen Herzenberg, Samuel Markolf, Corey Malone-Smolla, Jane Nelson, Uma Outka, Tony Pipa, Alexandra Phelan, Leroy Paddock, Jonathan D. Rosenbloom, William Snape, Anastasia Telesetsky, Gerald Torres, Elizabeth Ann Kronk Warner, Audra Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

In 2015, the United Nations Member States, including the United States, unanimously approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. The SDGs are nonbinding; each nation is to implement them based on its own priorities and circumstances. This Article argues that the SDGs are a critical normative framework the United States should use to improve human quality of life, freedom, and opportunity by integrating economic and social development with environmental protection. It collects the recommendations of 22 experts on steps that the Biden-Harris Administration should take now to advance each of the SDGs. It is part of …

Elected-Official-Affiliated Nonprofits: Closing The Public Integrity Gap, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

Recent years have witnessed the growing use by elected officials, particularly state and local chief executives, of affiliated nonprofit organizations to advance their policy goals. Some of these organizations engage in public advocacy to advance a governor’s or mayor’s legislative program. Others operate more like conventional charities, raising philanthropic support for a range of governmental social welfare programs. Elected officials fundraise for these organizations, which are often staffed by close associates of those elected officials, and the organizations’ public communications frequently feature prominently the name or likeness of their elected-official sponsor. As these organizations do not engage in electioneering, they …

A Perfectly Empty Gift, Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus

Faculty Scholarship

“Almost citizens.” What does that even mean? It’s like being “kind of pregnant,” isn’t it? In other words, nonsense. Citizenship isn’t an “almost” kind of thing. It’s all or nothing. Unless, I suppose, the word “almost” is used in a simple temporal sense – as in, “Our naturalization ceremony is tomorrow. We’re almost citizens! Yay!” There, the phrase “almost citizens” makes sense. Otherwise not. Right?

Wrong. “Almost citizens,” in a sense as ambiguous as it sounds, is what Almost Citizens: Puerto Rico, the U S Constitution, and Empire is about. “Almost citizens” describes what Puerto Ricans were from 1898, when …

Presidential Progress On Climate Change: Will The Courts Interfere With What Needs To Be Done To Save Our Planet?, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

The Biden Administration is undertaking numerous actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition away from fossil fuels as part of the fight against climate change. Many of these actions are likely to be challenged in court. This paper describes the various legal theories that are likely to be used in these challenges, assesses their prospects of success given the current composition of the Supreme Court, and suggests ways to minimize the risks.

Judges And The Deregulation Of The Lawyer's Monopoly, Jessica K. Steinberg, Anna E. Carpenter, Colleen F. Shanahan, Alyx Mark

Faculty Scholarship

In a revolutionary moment for the legal profession, the deregulation of legal services is taking hold in many parts of the country. Utah and Arizona, for instance, are experimenting with new regulations that permit nonlawyer advocates to play an active role in assisting citizens who may not otherwise have access to legal services. In addition, amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct in both states, as well as those being contemplated in California, now allow nonlawyers to have a partnership stake in law firms, which may dramatically change the way capital for the delivery of legal services is raised as …

Grafton County 2020 Highlights, Amy Loader

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Enhancing The Efficiency Of Bag Mask Ventilation: New Method, Muhammad Irfan Ul Haq

Department of Anaesthesia

No abstract provided.

Post Operative Sore Throat: Comparison Between Macintosh Versus Video Laryngoscope In Patients Intubated By Trainee Anaesthetists - A Randomised Control Trial, Amin Ahmed Kapadia, Faraz Shafiq, Amir Raza

Department of Anaesthesia

Objectives: Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a common complication related to endotracheal intubation. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of POST in patients intubated by trainee anaesthetist using Video Laryngoscope™ (VDL) or Conventional Macintosh Laryngoscope (CL).
Methods: Total 110 patient scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included from main operating room of Aga Khan University Hospital between June 2017-2018. The standardized perioperative protocol was used for general anaesthesia. Selected patients were randomly allocated into conventional laryngoscopy (CL) group or video laryngoscopy (VDL) group. The evaluation of sore throat was done at 1st, 12th and 24th hour …

Utilizing Qualitative Methods To Inform Interventions For Addressing Alcohol Use During Pregnancy, Chaarushi Ahuja

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background: In the United States, nearly 12% of women report alcohol use during pregnancy despite recommendations of complete abstinence by government agencies and professional medical organizations. Multiple public health and screening interventions are effective in promoting increased knowledge and abstinence amongst pregnant women. However, the interventions generally provide broad, non-specific content, and the messaging is not directly tailored to the specific motivations and barriers that women face when making decisions about alcohol use during pregnancy. Since tailoring content and messages can improve effectiveness of interventions, a deeper qualitative investigation into the context surrounding alcohol use during pregnancy is warranted. Methods: …

Physician Burnout: An Assessment Of Impact, Drivers And Design Of Prevention Programs, David Dupee

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Burnout merits close study, with particular attention paid to means of quantifying institutional impact, reducing provider burnout burden, and measuring said burden. This study utilized economic and qualitative analyses to indicate institutional impact. It modified and piloted an intervention for attending level physicians. It also proposes a novel wellness program for resident physicians based off of triumphs and gaps in literature. Lastly, it utilizes survey comparison to track overall changes in burnout rate at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH). Overall, the cost of physician burnout at YNHH was estimated to range between $171 and $233 million annually. Reducing physician burnout …

"Keep Your Facts, I'M Going With The Truth": Toward An Ethical Perfromance Of Satire In The Age Of Hyper-Polarization And Culture War, Carson Betts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Satire is having a unique cultural moment. Conversations about what constitutes satire, why it should be performed, and how can it be done ethically are abundant in American popular culture. As with many forms of art and entertainment, satire has become a major subject of discussion in the great American Culture Wars: the conflict between the highly stratified ideological poles of right and left over the dominance of each's closely held social values, political ideals, and aesthetic sensibilities. Divides, real and imagined, in the American public have given popular discourse a sharp and biting edge, driven by growing political polarization …

The Actor And The Iceberg, Christopher Creane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Actors have ingrained vocal, physical, and mental habits they unknowingly use on stage in the form of physical movements, vocalization, and character choices which can inadvertently communicate information to the audience. Rarely, however, are actors asked to play themselves and if their own habits are unconsciously being merged with their intentional character choices, then the audience's perception of the actor's portrayal may be shaped by unintentional behavior. "The Actor and the Iceberg" will be a synthesis of awareness building and control techniques for the mind and body, specifically: meditation, mindfulness, the Feldenkrais Method, and the Alexander Technique. The goal of …

Braving The Discomfort: An Examination Of Hate Speech And Racially-Motivated Violence Onstage, And How We Should Approach It, Sarah Hubert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis is an exploration of best practices in regards to creating a safe space within the theatre for artists to feel comfortable creating without risk to their emotional or physical safety. These safe spaces are particularly needed around shows which call for onstage racial violence or racist language. Methodology for these best practices includes theatrical intimacy, safe space creation as utilized by various advocacy groups, Theatre of the Oppressed, and drama therapy. In addition to these best practices that apply to the entire production, ideas for individual practice are explored. As a case study, Theatre UCF's production of Sweat …

Sympathy For The Devil: A Compassionate Approach To Morally Reprehensible Characters In Drama, Amy Livingston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Empathy is often heralded as a vital part of the theatrical experience. Generally understood as the experience of feeling what another person is feeling, it is believed to help actors create more honest performances and to help audiences better understand viewpoints different from their own. These empathic experiences are complicated, however, when applied to stories about characters who commit unforgivably evil acts and may lead people to feel manipulated into justifying or sharing the immoral beliefs of these characters. This thesis argues that for theatre practitioners telling stories about morally reprehensible characters, compassion, involving feelings of care and concern for …

The Death Of Beowulf: Exploring The Conception, Process, And Lessons Of An Original Solo Performance Based On A Classic, Jeffrey Sneed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The Death of Beowulf: Exploring the Conception, Process, and Lessons of an Original Solo Performance Based on a Classic is the exploration of a performer's journey understanding how their own identity and aesthetic has been defined by other works of art and how it affects their creative expression. The author examines the nature of classics as culturally and personally formative texts, and how the artist's experiences and interpretation can potentially deliver fresh understandings of a familiar text. Then, by applying this to his own process of devising a script based on the epic poem Beowulf, he grapples with the challenges …

Towards A Postdramatic Jazz Aesthetic: Per(Form)Ance And Its Discontents, Johann Robert Wood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In Karen Jürs-Munby's introduction to her English translation of Hans-Thies Lehmann's Postdramatic Theatre (2006), she positions a single African American theatre practitioner, Suzan-Lori Parks, within the canon of postdramatic writers in spite of Lehmann's blind spot for the contribution of Black artists to innovations in theatre practice and aesthetics. This thesis draws from critical jazz studies, particularly Parks's "Rep & Rev" and Fred Moten's analysis of jazz improvisation from his seminal work, In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition (2003), in order to visibilize Black contributions to theatre innovation through what has often been overlooked as merely …

Factors Associated With Resilience And Sense Of Coherence In Adult Transgender Persons: Identifying Predictors To Reduce Health Disparities In A Vulnerable Population, Jake Bush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

National studies revealed the transgender population has barriers to positive health outcomes, but also showed evidence of resilience. A focus on health strengths such as resilience may help mitigate health barriers. This work focused on the sociodemographic predictors of and interrelationships between resilience, sense of coherence (SOC), and health perception. There were three aims of this work. The first aim was to review the literature surrounding resilience and SOC in the adult transgender population. Results from an integrative literature review revealed three themes of resilience in the adult transgender population: social support, individual factors, and resources. Prior to the current …

Artistic Science: An Exploration Of Dramaturgy Through Inquiry-Based Learning For Youth Artists, Sam Dirosa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In the unique world of a play, dramaturgy provides the essential multi-dimensional foundation for comprehensive exploration. As the identity of dramaturgy is complex and continues to evolve, the artistic value discovered through practice positively contributes to the theatrical experience for both artists and audience members. This substantial element is mostly absent from theatrical experiences for youth, usually making a meaningful appearance in professional and collegiate theatre productions. To promote the importance of dramaturgy, I attempt to construct and explore a learning opportunity at Long Lake Camp for the Arts, a summer performing arts camp for youth artists and performers. This …

Three Papers Examining The Impact Of Non-Financial And Supplier Diversity Disclosures On Investors' Judgments And Decisions., Andria Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Sustainability reporting is standard practice for large and mid-cap global companies. Sustainability reports are voluntary in nature and are used by companies to report on their sustainability activities to investors and other stakeholders. The supplier diversity disclosure is common amongst sustainability reports; however, current standards provide limited guidance on the information that is pertinent to the users of the information. Supplier diversity and inclusion is an important strategic business initiative, and yet the topic has garnered little attention in academic research. To further examine this topic, I conduct three studies examining the topic using multiple methods. The first study presents …

Stock Shows And Rodeos: The Crossroads Of Commodification, Consumption, And Care Of Nonhuman Animals, Erin Kidder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study explores the complex relationship between humans and nonhuman animals through the lens of stock shows and rodeos (SSR). This study employs a feminist theoretical framework and an interpretive qualitative research methodology to gain insight into the ways in which humans practice a range of speciesist behaviors relating to their commodification, consumption, and care of other animals. Data consist of semi-structured interviews with 21 individuals who participate in SSR as spectators and competitors and with two animal medical experts, along with field observations at three different SSR held in Florida and Texas. Findings suggest that nonhuman animals serve many …

Emotional Availability: A Practice-As-Research Exploration On Acting In Film And Theatre, Janice Munk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Actors are frequently required to be emotionally available on the spot, in situations ranging from an early morning acting class, to filming a scene well past midnight after a full day on set. In theatre, there is the expectation to deliver the right emotion every performance, and in film, when the camera and crew are ready, the actor is expected to produce the emotion at that moment. This demand to give emotionally compelling performances can cause an actor to stress under the pressure to deliver. Acting for stage and film have similarities and differences, and an actor needs to learn …

Group Level Cues And The Use Of Force In Domestic And Foreign Policy Contexts, Zlatin Mitkov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

To what extent do elite and social group cues affect the public's willingness to embrace their leader's actions during domestic and international security crises? Studies traditionally have focused on top-down elite cue-driven models to study how the public's attitudes are influenced during international and domestic security crises, largely disregarding the bottom-up effects social peer groups can have on individuals' attitudes. This is problematic as the public is regularly exposed to cue messages from elites and social peer groups, both of which are expected to help determine how successful leaders will be in mobilizing public support on a tactical level. To …

Victim Blame Of Missing People Based On Race And Media Framing, Ciara Peebles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study examined the effects of a missing person's race and framing of their personal characteristics on participants' attribution of victim blame. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 428) and completed a 2x3 between-subjects experimental study. The victim's race (Black vs. White) and news media framing of the victim's personal characteristics (positive vs. mixed vs. negative) were manipulated, and victim blame was assessed through reactions to a mock news article about the missing person's case. A two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted (with the participants' race and Modern Racism Scale score as covariates), and results indicated …

Spatio-Temporal Representation For Reasoning With Action Genome, Kesar Tumkur Narasimhamurthy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Representing Spatio-temporal information in videos has proven to be a difficult task compared to action recognition in videos involving multiple actions. A single activity consists many smaller actions that can provide a better understanding of the activity. This paper tries to represent the varying information in a scene-graph format in order to answer temporal questions to obtain improved insights for the video, resulting in a directed temporal information graph. This project will use the Action Genome dataset, which is a variation of the charades dataset, to capture pairwise relationships in a graph. The model performs significantly better than the benchmark …

Asper, Isaiah Nearor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Asper is a microbudget feature-length film written, directed, and funded by Isaiah D. Nearor for the requirements of earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. Completing a film production can be challenging because not every day is the same. Production took place during Summer 2021 during COVID 19. With proper guidance and safety protocol, the film made it through production. The film is a narrative thriller. This thesis explains the process and decisions made from preproduction through post-production.

Two Studies Investigating Institutional Theory And Municipalities' Payments In Lieu Of Taxes Programs In Nonprofit Organizations, Gregory Stone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Building on prior studies analyzing institutional logics within and among organizations, I first investigate large nonprofit organizations in Boston, Massachusetts, to determine the logics held by these organizations, how the logics drive organizational behavior when faced with payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs), and the strategies they implement as they recompose their position in the field. Using nonprofit community benefit reports, news and trade publications, and data from the Boston PILOT Program, I explore the development of organizational activities and how they use a combination of market and community logics to construct themselves as charitable. Nonprofit pursuit of creating and maintaining a strong civil …