Digital Commons Network^™

The Dangers Of Surveillance, Neil M. Richards

Scholarship@WashULaw

From the Fourth Amendment to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, our culture is full of warnings about state scrutiny of our lives. These warnings are commonplace, but they are rarely very specific. Other than the vague threat of an Orwellian dystopia, as a society we don’t really know why surveillance is bad, and why we should be wary of it. To the extent the answer has something to do with “privacy,” we lack an understanding of what “privacy” means in this context, and why it matters. Developments in government and corporate practices have made this problem more urgent. Although we have …

Keep Your Update To Yourself, Neil M. Richards

Scholarship@WashULaw

An essay from Wired Magazine (UK)'s special edition, The Wired World in 2013. The essay makes the argument that frictionless sharing of reading habits should decline in 2013.

Three Paradoxes Of Big Data, Neil M. Richards, Jonathan H. King

Scholarship@WashULaw

Big data is all the rage. Its proponents tout the use of sophisticated analytics to mine large data sets for insight as the solution to many of our society’s problems. These big data evangelists insist that data-driven decision making can now give us better predictions in areas ranging from college admissions to dating to hiring to medicine to national security and crime prevention. But much of the rhetoric of big data contains no meaningful analysis of its potential perils, only the promise. We don’t deny that big data holds substantial potential for the future, and that large dataset analysis has …

The Perils Of Social Reading, Neil M. Richards

Scholarship@WashULaw

Our law currently treats records of our reading habits under two contradictory rules: rules mandating confidentiality and rules permitting disclosure. Recently, the rise of the social Internet has created more of these records and more pressures on when and how they should be shared. Companies like Facebook, in collaboration with many newspapers, have ushered in the era of “social reading,” in which what we read may be “frictionlessly shared” with our friends and acquaintances. Disclosure and sharing are on the rise.

This Article sounds a cautionary note about social reading and frictionless sharing. Social reading might have some appeal, but …

The Freedom Of The Church (New Revised Standard Version), John D. Inazu

Scholarship@WashULaw

Significant discussion about the “freedom of church” has recently emerged at the intersection of law and religion scholarship and political theology. That discussion gained additional traction with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hosanna-Tabor v. E.E.O.C., which recognized the First Amendment’s “special solicitude” for religious organizations. But the freedom of the church is at its core a theological concept, and its potential integration into our constitutional discourse requires a process of translation. The efficacy of any background political concept as legal doctrine will ultimately stand or fall on something akin to what Frederick Schauer has called “constitutional salience.”

The existing debate …

Virtual Assembly, John D. Inazu

Scholarship@WashULaw

This Article provides one of the first scholarly considerations of the constitutional boundaries for online groups. It explores both why and how we should protect these groups by asking two related questions. The first question is theoretical: do online groups implicate the kinds of values that warrant elevated constitutional protection. The second question is doctrinal: what is the best framework for providing constitutional protection to these groups. The Article argues that we should protect online groups because they advance important First Amendment values and because the line between our offline and our online groups is collapsing. Turning to the doctrinal …

Building A Taxonomy Of Litigation: Clusters Of Causes Of Action In Federal Complaints, Christina L. Boyd, David A. Hoffman, Zoran Obradovic, Kosta Ristovski

Scholarship@WashULaw

This project empirically explores civil litigation from its inception by examining the content of civil complaints. We utilize spectral cluster analysis on a newly compiled federal district court dataset of causes of action in complaints to illustrate the relationship of legal claims to one another, the broader composition of lawsuits in trial courts, and the breadth of pleading in individual complaints. Our results shed light not only on the networks of legal theories in civil litigation but also on how lawsuits are classified and the strategies that plaintiffs and their attorneys employ when commencing litigation. This approach permits us to …

Litigating Toward Settlement, Christina L. Boyd, David A. Hoffman

Scholarship@WashULaw

Civil litigation typically ends when the parties compromise. While existing theories of settlement primarily focus on information exchange, we instead examine how motion practice, especially non-discovery motions, can substantially shape parties’ knowledge about their cases and thereby influence the timing of settlement. Using docket-level federal district court data, we find a number of strong effects regarding how motions can influence this process, including that the filing of a motion significantly speeds case settlement, that granted motions are more immediately critical to settlement timing than motions denied, and that plaintiff victories have a stronger effect than defendant victories. These results provide …

Data Envelopment Analysis Of Relative Efficiencies Of Public And Private Institutions Of Higher Learning, Joseph Calhoun, Joshua Hall

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

There has been considerable public debate surrounding the efficiency of higher education in the United States. Using Data Envelopment Analysis, we look at the efficiency of a majority of the institutions of higher learning in the United States. Using two different approaches, we find some evidence that private institutions of higher learning are more efficient than public ones. In particular, masters and bachelors-granting institutions with unrestricted revenue greater than 85% are more efficient than those with less than 85%. Public institutions tend to have more restricted funding, suggesting that their stakeholders constrain them from operating on the frontier.

Does School District And Municipality Border Congruence Matter? A Spatial Hedonic Approach, Joshua Hall

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Research on zoning typically assumes city planners aim to maximize housing prices with their land use decisions, either explicitly for public choice reasons or implicitly through the approval of land uses that create local net benefits. Noncongruence of school district and municipality borders severs the link between costs and benefits in the eyes of the median voter, however, which could result in excessive residential development and fiscal externalities that lowers property values. This paper uses a hedonic approach to indirectly observe the presence of these externalities. Border congruency between school districts and municipalities in Ohio is measured using GIS data …

State Lottery Revenue: The Importance Of Game Characteristics, Thomas A. Garrett, Russell S. Sobel

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Research Trends In Dissertations And Theses Studying Blended Learning, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Charles R. Graham, Kristian J. Spring, Lisa R. Halverson

Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the research of 205 doctoral dissertations and masters' theses in the domain of blended learning. A summary of trends regarding the growth and context of blended learning research is presented. Methodological trends are described in terms of qualitative, inferential statistics, descriptive statistics, and combined approaches to data analysis. Research topics are divided into nine topics (learner outcomes, dispositions, instructional design, interaction, comparison, demographics, technology, professional development, and other), each containing several sub-topics. Patterns in these topics are analyzed to identify gaps in research and to highlight opportunities for future research as the field of blended learning continues …

Macrophage Subset Sensitivity To Endotoxin Tolerisation By Porphyromonas Gingivalis., Andrew D. Foey, St John Crean

School of Biomedical Sciences

Macrophages (MΦs) determine oral mucosal responses; mediating tolerance to commensal microbes and food whilst maintaining the capacity to activate immune defences to pathogens. MΦ responses are determined by both differentiation and activation stimuli, giving rise to two distinct subsets; pro-inflammatory M1- and anti-inflammatory/regulatory M2- MΦs. M2-like subsets predominate tolerance induction whereas M1 MΦs predominate in inflammatory pathologies, mediating destructive inflammatory mechanisms, such as those in chronic P.gingivalis (PG) periodontal infection. MΦ responses can be suppressed to benefit either the host or the pathogen. Chronic stimulation by bacterial pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as LPS, is well established to induce …

Household Variation, Public Architecture, And The Organization Of Fremont Communities, Katie K. Richards, James R. Allison, Richard Talbot, Scott Ure, Lindsay Johansson

Faculty Publications

The Fremont were small scale agriculturalists spread across the northern Colorado Plateau and eastern Great Basin from before A.D. 400 until the A.D. 1300s. Fremont residences are typically pit structures—although late adobe surface structures do occur—established as individual farmsteads, small hamlets, and villages of variable size, the largest with hundreds of occupants. In this paper we discuss how Fremont society was variably organized through time and space, including as households, communities, and dispersed communities. We describe architectural forms that denote not only residential, but also public, communal, and ritual functions. We then present a preliminary model of Fremont organizational strategies …

January 2013 Newsletter, Career Center, Illinois Wesleyan University

Career Connections Newsletter

Issue Highlights:

• Career Profile of Todd Zoellick ‘00, History/Political Science Double-Major
• Trends In Recruiting: What Employers Want From Us!
• “10 Phrases that are holding your Career Back”
• Work In Government, Is it for You?

Steps To Success 2013-2014, Career Center, Illinois Wesleyan University

Steps to Success

No abstract provided.

2013 Seventh Cfw Summit Schedule, Illinois Wesleyan University

Related Documents

No abstract provided.

Iron (Iii) Tosylate Catalyzed Synthesis Of 3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2(1h)-Ones/Thiones, Ram Mohan, Jacob Starcevich, Thomas Laughlin

Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Latitude On The Winter Abundance Of Red-Tailed Hawks (Buteo Jamaicensis) And American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius) In Illinois, Given Harper, Anna Groves, Vic Berardi, Paul Sweet, Jance Sweet, Angelo Capparella

Scholarship

We use five years of data from 18 routes surveyed to determine the temporal stability of a first reported 100 years pattern, and reconfirmed that the abundance of winter 50 years ago tailed Hawk and American Kestrel decreases with increasing latitude, being more high in the central regions of Illinos in the northern regions. Trained volunteers conducted sampling ( n  = 143) a month driving along selected routes from December to February, from 2004-2005 to 2008-2009. We found significant increases in the abundance of both species from the northern regions to the central regions of Illinois. No significant effects of …

Contributors

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

On Danish-American Cultural Identity, Signe Sloth

The Bridge

In 1967 an article was published which kick-started a discussion that is still going on among sociologists today. The subject of the article is American civil religion and the writer is the American sociologist Robert Bellah who claims that every nation and every people has a religious self-understanding. He advocates an American civil religion that is separated from other denominations and established religious institutions, but just like them demands recognition and understanding. Bellah defines this Civil Religion as " ... A genuine apprehension of universal and transcendental religious reality as seen in or . . . as revealed through the …

Transmitting Occupational Niches From First To Second-Generation Immigrants: Are There Earnings Consequences From Being The "Copycat" Generation?, Melissa Seeborg

Honors Projects

In recent years, the number of second-generation immigrants entering the labor market has been increasing at a rapid pace. Their parents had immigrated in large waves, with many joining niche occupations dominated by their ethnic groups. This study looks to determine the economic impact of first-generation niche occupations, the extent that the second-generation enters the same occupations, and the resulting consequences on the second-generation’s income levels. In particular, the study investigates whether the second-generation will sustain the first-generation earnings advantage (or disadvantage) relative to natives. This research examines immigrants from China, India, the Philippines, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Data from …

Community-Scale Renewable Energy, Hannah J. Wiseman, Sara C. Bronin

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

At the outset, we should recognize the types of renewable energy that are best suited for community-scale facilities. A broad, and commonly accepted, definition of renewable energy comes from the Energy Information Administration, which includes all resources that “are naturally replenishing but flow-limited,” including “biomass, hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, ocean thermal, wave action, and tidal action.” Of these types of renewable energy, solar and wind have the highest potential for community-scale implementation. Indeed, these have tended to dominate the community-scale renewable projects already in place. Moreover, states commonly subsidize both large-scale and individual-scale solar and wind developments; these subsidies may …

South Africa's Electricity Crisis: The Need To Reconcile Environmental Policy Decisions With International Treaties, Brittany D. Botterill

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment examines whether South Africa’s treaty obligations conflict with the requirement of the country’s government to provide electricity to a burgeoning home-owning population. Section II introduces Eskom, South Africa’s largest utility company, which produces most of the electricity used in South Africa and surrounding countries. Section III discusses South Africa’s role in the Southern Africa Power Pool and the additional obligations this membership places on the country. Section IV then examines the controversial loan that South Africa received from the World Bank to assist in building the Medupi coal-fired power plant. Section V illustrates South Africa’s climate change obligations …

Nsa Surveillance Since 9/11 And The Human Right To Privacy, G. Alex Sinha

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Since shortly after 9/11, if not earlier, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting massive amounts of data about American citizens and permanent residents, ostensibly with the aim of preempting future terrorist attacks. While the NSA's program has invited substantial scholarly attention, specifically concerning its compliance with the United States Constitution and various domestic statutes, the academic debate about its merits entirely omits one crucial fact: the United States is also legally obliged to protect a human right to privacy, as codified in Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This Article seeks to …

Copyright And Social Media: A Preliminary Case Study Of Pinterest, Elizabeth Townsend Gard, Bri Whetstone

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Taxpayers As Victims: Taxpayer Harm & Criminalization", Brenner M. Fissell

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Criminal statutes are least objectionable when they are justified by the notion that the conduct being prohibited is harmful to others. Over the past few decades, a new argument has arisen that makes this very easy to do. This argument appeals to the reality that often when one’s conduct causes or risks physical injury to one’s self, governmental services (e.g. rescue, police, healthcare) will be provided, and that the cost of these services is an unfair burden imposed upon taxpayers. This argument understands the taxpayers to be victims, and the self-harming conduct to therefore be harmful to others, and justifiably …

Developing A Method For Enhanced Explosive Detection By Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (Sers) And Metal Enhanced Fluorescence (Mef), Meredith A. Matoian

Open Access Master's Theses

The first manuscript, “Fabrication of SERS Substrates for Explosive Detection,” focuses on the development of a Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrate for use in the area of explosive detection. The substrate was created by immersion plating of silver onto porous silicon, resulting in a Ag roughened surface with an average roughness of 135 nm as determined by AFM. When explosive solutions, such as trinitrotoluene (TNT) and dinitrotoluene (DNT) in ethanol, were applied directly to the substrate, detection of unique Raman bands was possible down to the 10^-9 – 10^-10 mol/cm² range. These results prove the technique …

Metallic And Ceramic Thin Film Thermocouples, Ian M. Tougas

Open Access Master's Theses

Operating temperatures in the hot sections of modern gas turbine engines reach as high as 1500°C, making in situ monitoring of the severe temperature gradients on the surface of components rather difficult. Therefore, there is a need to develop thermocouples which can stably measure temperature in these harsh environments. Refractory metal and ceramic thin film thermocouples are well suited for this task since they have chemical and electrical stability at high temperatures in oxidizing atmospheres, they are compatible with thermal barrier coatings employed on engine components, have higher sensitivity than conventional wire thermocouples, and they are non-invasive to the engine …

Pathological Effects Of Soybean Anti-Nutritional Factors On Summer Flounder (Paralichthys Dentatus) Tissues, Rachel Michelle Bone

Open Access Master's Theses

Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), a popular carnivorous fish in New England, is an important candidate for aquaculture development. The inclusion of plant proteins as a replacement for fish meal in the diets of marine carnivorous fish may lead to economical advantages and increased sustainability. Anti-nutritional factors, organic molecules that cannot be digested and may inhibit digestion of other molecules present in soybean meal, but not in soy protein concentrate, may limit the inclusion of soybean meal into carnivorous fish diets by impacting fish growth rates or immune function. In order to determine the mechanisms by which soybean meal …