cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Questioning a Courtroom Proof of the Uniqueness of Fingerprints

Summary Forensic scientists or analysts concerned with "individualization" often presume that features such as fingerprint minutia are unique to each individual. In the United States, defendants in criminal cases have been demanding proof of such assumptions. In at least two cases, the government of the United States has successfully relied on an unpublished statistical study prepared specifically for litigation to demonstrate the uniqueness of fingerprints. This article suggests that the study is neither designed nor executed in a way that can show whether an individual's fingerprint impressions are unique.
From centrality to temporary fame: Dynamic centrality in complex networks

We develop a new approach to the study of the dynamics of link utilization in complex networks using records of communication in a large social network. Counter to the perspective that nodes have particular roles, we find roles change dramatically from day to day. “Local hubs” have a power law degree distribution over time, with no characteristic degree value. Our results imply a significant reinterpretation of the concept of node centrality in complex networks, and among other conclusions suggest that interventions targeting hubs will have significantly less effect than previously thought. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 12: 000‐000, 2006
A Comparison of the Handling of the Financial Crisis in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia

The United States has over 115 different state and federal government agencies regulating financial services, which encompasses banking, securities and insurance firms and products. Various commentators have noted that at least part of the blame for the financial crisis of 2007-2009 in the United States was due to the regulatory gaps that existed between these agencies and the regulatory arbitrage in which some financial service firms engaged. They have suggested that the United States would benefit from consolidating its regulatory structure either along the lines of the "twin peaks" model employed by Australia or the single regulator model employed by the United Kingdom. Opponents of consolidation, however, have argued that consolidated regulatory structures, particularly the single regulator model used by the United Kingdom, did not insulate nations from the current financial crisis. This article examines: (1) how the regulatory structures in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia influenced how each nation regulated financial services prior to the crisis, (2) to what extent the different regulatory structures affected the types and severity of the financial shocks each nation experienced, and (3) how the regulatory structures are influencing what regulatory reforms are considered necessary to avoid or minimize similar problems to the ones confronted in this crisis in the future. The evidence from this examination suggests that Australia was able to avoid many of the problems that arose in the United States and the United Kingdom and that this was at least partly due to its twin peaks regulatory structure. As a result, the United States probably would benefit if it enacted reform proposals that moved the United States closer to a twin peaks model like the one employed by Australia.
Close to you? Bias and precision in patent-based measures of technological proximity

Abstract Patent data have been widely used in research to characterize firms’ locations in technological or knowledge space, as well as the proximities among firms. Researchers have measured firms’ technological or knowledge proximities with a variety of measures based on patent data, including Euclidean distances (using the technological classifications listed on patents), and overlap in cited patents. Often research has employed only the first listed patent classification in measures of proximities. We explore the effects of using the first listed patent class as well as other methods to measure proximities. We point out that measures of proximity based on small numbers of patents are imprecisely measured random variables. Measures computed on samples with few patents or a single patent class generate both biased and imprecise measures of proximity. We discuss the implications of this for typical research questions employing measures of proximity, and explore the effects of larger sample sizes and coarser patent class breakdowns in mitigating these problems. Where possible, we suggest that researchers increase their sample sizes by aggregating years or using all of the listed patent classes on a patent, rather than just the first.
Reviving the Excessive Fines Clause

Millions of American adults and children struggle with debt stemming from economic sanctions issued by the criminal and juvenile courts. For those unable to pay, the consequences — including incarceration, exclusion from public benefits, and persistent poverty — can be draconian and perpetual. The Supreme Court has nevertheless concluded that many of these concerns lie outside the scope of the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause. In interpreting the Clause, the Court relied upon a limited set of historical sources to restrict “fines” to sanctions that are punitive in nature and paid exclusively to the government, and to define “excessive” as referring to — either exclusively or primarily — the proportionality between the crime’s gravity and the amount of the fine.This Article takes the Court at its word by assuming history is constitutionally relevant, but it challenges the Court’s limited use of history by providing the first detailed analysis of colonial and early American statutory and court records regarding fines. This robust historical analysis belies the Court’s use of history to announce historical “truths” to limit the scope of the Clause, by showing significant evidence that contradicts those limitations. The Article uses the historical record to identify questions regarding the Clause’s meaning, to assess the quality of the historical evidence suggesting an answer to such questions, and then to consider that evidence — according to its value — within a debate that incorporates contemporary understandings of just punishment. Under the resulting interpretation, the historical evidence articulated in this Article would support an understanding of a “fine" as a deprivation of anything of economic value in response to a public offense. “Excessive,” in turn, would be assessed through a broad understanding of proportionality that takes account of both offense and offender characteristics, as well as the effect of the fine on the individual. The proposed interpretation more faithfully reflects the history and its limitations, and broadens the Clause’s scope to provide greater individual protections.
STRATEGIC DIFFERENTIATION AND STRATEGIC EMULATION IN GAMES WITH UNCERTAINTY

When players who choose a common strategy face a common shock, while players who choose different strategies face independent or imperfectly correlated shocks, equilibrium choices exhibit differentiation (respectively emulation) when the sign of the cross-partial derivative of the firms' profit functions with respect to the realizations of the uncertain variables is negative (respectively positive). I consider a variety of applications, including technology choice, brand investments, and R&D races, many of which can be characterized as two-stage games. In such games I demonstrate that differentiation is more likely to occur when the second stage game is a game of strategic substitutes.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW—FIRST AMENDMENT—NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO VOTE FOR DONALD DUCK: THE SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF WRITE-IN VOTING BANS IN BURDICK v. TAKUSHI

This Note examines the Supreme Court decision in Burkick v. Takushi in detail and questions the Court's conclusion that the voters' interest in casting write-in votes is so slight that write-in bans are presumptively valid. The Note concludes that the Burdick decision is both inconsistent with the Court's previous ballot access jurisprudence, and restricts the electoral process at a time when voters are clamoring for more diverse choices in the voting booth. Section I of this Note briefly reviews a number of cases that considered the constitutionality of legislation governing candidate access to election ballots. The ballot access cases are relevant because federal courts considering write-in voting restrictions have adopted a standard of review originally tailored for ballot access restrictions. Section II describes the majority and dissenting opinions in Burdick. Section III analyzes the nature of write-in voting as an expression of political speech and association protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. This section will challenge the Burdick Court's interpretation of the standard of review applied to ballot access cases. Finally, this section demonstrates that the Supreme Court failed to correctly weigh the injury to voters imposed by the write-in ban against the relatively insignificant state interest in banning such votes.
Quantum Dynamics in Atomic-Fountain Experiments for Measuring the Electric Dipole Moment of the Electron with Improved Sensitivity

Does the electron have a nonzero electric dipole moment? Measurements based on an atomic-fountain apparatus are predicted to be able to answer this question more accurately by lowering the current experimental detection limits by two orders of magnitude.
Ladies in Red: Learning From America's First Female Bankrupts

Several years ago, the Honorable Joyce Bihary, a bankruptcy judge in Atlanta, Georgia, asked me why our country's first bankruptcy law specifically referred to debtors using "he" or "she" rather than a gender neutral noun (such as "bankrupts") or the male possessive pronoun "he." Implicitly, she was also asking whether there were any women debtors under our early bankruptcy laws. Although I had read the Bankruptcy Act of 1800 more than once, I did not recollect its use of these gender-inclusive pronouns. Nor did I know why the Act employed them. Despite having given considerable thought to contemporary women in debt, I too had no inkling as to whether there were women debtors under the Bankruptcy Act of 1800. And so I set out, with the help of my co-authors, to find the answers to Judge Bihary's two questions. Those answers led us to new questions and concerns, most particularly questions about how bankruptcy history has been told to date.
Miracles and Debacles: In Defence of Trade Openness

The central theme of this paper is that sustained rapid growth cannot be achieved without rapid growth in trade. A review of the experience during the past four decades offers virtually no examples of countries achieving sustained rapid growth – called miracles in this paper – without simultaneously experiencing sustained rapid growth in trade in the presence of low or high but declining barriers to trade. Simultaneously, the claim that opening to trade leads to sustained income losses is unfounded. A review of the experience of the countries that have faced stagnation or declining per-capita incomes on a long-term basis – called debacles in this paper – reveals no connection to a sustained surge in imports.
What Forces Dictate the Design of Pollution Monitoring Networks

The US Environmental Protection Agency maintains networks of pollution monitors for two basic purposes: to check and enforce the attainment of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and to provide useful data for studying pollution and its effects. These purposes imply conflicting criteria for the locations of a limited number of monitors. To check the attainment of standards, monitors are placed where pollution levels are highest. Monitors are not required where standards have always been met and there are no new pollution sources. To provide useful data for studying pollution and its effects, monitors would be placed to observe outcomes under a variety of pollution levels. This study asks the following questions. What factors affect when a monitor is retired from the network? What drives the decision to add a new site? What causes year-to-year changes in the number of monitors? We tackle these questions with a particular focus on the role of regulatory compliance and pollution levels in the context of monitors for tropospheric ozone (O3). Using a panel dataset of monitors in the contiguous US spanning the years 1993 to 2011, we find that the peak O3 readings in the prior period are significantly associated with the regulator’s decision of whether to add or to drop a monitor in the following period. While compliance with the NAAQS for O3 is not consistently associated with network composition, compliance with the PM2.5 NAAQS does appear to affect changes to the network.
The Reaction of Multifamily Capitalization Rates to Natural Disasters

This study analyzes the effect of the Northridge Earthquake on capitalization rates in the multifamily building market in Los Angeles, California. The results indicate that the Northridge Earthquake had a negative impact and overall capitalization rates rose. This negative effect, however, was not uniform over the entire Los Angeles area. During the first year the impact was correlated with distance to the epicenter and proximity to areas with high concentrations of damage. This negative effect, however, proved to be a temporary phenomenon. By the third year after the earthquake, the negative effects of the earthquake were not significant.
What determines satellite galaxy disruption

In hierarchical structure formation, dark matter halos that merge with larger halos can persist as subhalos. These subhalos are likely hosts of visible galaxies. While the dense halo environment rapidly strips subhalos of their dark mass, the compact luminous material can remain intact for some time, making the correspondence of galaxies with severely stripped subhalos unclear. Many galaxy evolution models assume that satellite galaxies eventually merge with their central galaxy, but this ignores the possibility of satellite tidal disruption. We use a high-resolution N-body simulation of cosmological volume to explore satellite galaxy merging/disruption criteria based on dark matter subhalo dynamics. We explore the impact that satellite merging/disruption has on the Halo Occupation Distribution and radial profile of the remnants. Using abundance matching to assign stellar mass/luminosity to subhalos, we compare with observed galaxy clustering, satellite fractions, cluster satellite luminosity functions, finding that subhalos reproduce well these observables. Our results imply that satellite subhalos
Normal-dispersion Microcombs Enabled by Controllable Mode Interactions

We demonstrate a scheme incorporating dual coupled microresonators through which mode interactions are intentionally introduced and controlled for Kerr frequency comb (microcomb) generation in the normal dispersion region. Microcomb generation, repetition rate selection, and mode locking are achieved with coupled silicon nitride microrings controlled via an on-chip microheater. Our results show for the first time that mode interactions can be programmably tuned to facilitate broadband normal-dispersion microcombs. The proposed scheme increases freedom in microresonator design and may make it possible to generate microcombs in an extended wavelength range (e.g., in the visible) where normal material dispersion is likely to dominate.
How different GAAPS affect performance of valuation models: Evidence from Asia-based companies

Abstract Use of accounting information to assess a firm's value is a very important subject for financial analysts, investors, lenders, policy-makers, and other market participants. Given the current worldwide movement toward adoption of IFRS, understanding how it compares to other GAAPs and affects valuation models is an important matter. This study compares the relative performance of three valuation models based on a sample of all relevant American Depositary Shares (ADRs) from selected Asian countries and a matched sample of US counterparts, using accounting variables reported under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and non-IFRS/US GAAP. Results indicate that there are substantial differences between the three models' explanatory power and that the dominant (most explanatory) valuation model will vary depending on which GAAP (IFRS, US GAAP, and non-IFRS/US GAAP) is used.
The gender of radiation oncologists treating breast and genitourinary cancers at US comprehensive cancer centers.

Unfortunately, the representation of women in the Radiation Oncology workforce in the United States has long been disproportionate to that of women among medical school graduates and academic faculty throughout medicine.1 2 Over the past three decades, the representation of women in the academic Radiation Oncology workforce has risen approximately 0.3% per year,3 which would take 50 years to result in gender equality in faculty positions.4 5 Even at the recent increased rate of women representation in Radiation Oncology residency of 1.5% per year between the classes of 2016 and 2022, there would remain a substantial period of time for this increase in resident representation to translate into achieving gender equity in the academic workforce.6 Certain cancer disease sites are dominated by patients of a particular gender; two of the largest being breast cancer and genitourinary cancer (given that prostate cancer treatment is far more common than treatment of other malignancies of the genitourinary system that affect men and women alike). We sought to evaluate the present-day Radiation Oncology workforce in these two subspecialities to determine the gender makeup of Radiation Oncology providers comprising these fields. A compilation of radiation oncologists treating breast cancer and genitourinary cancer was obtained from internet searches of the 51 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centres in the United States from August–September 2019. Under-represented minority status (defined as African-American race and/or Hispanic ethnicity) was documented as previously described.7 Data were subsequently analysed using t-tests and Fischer’s exact test, with statistical significance assigned at p<0.05 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, California, USA) and ORs accompanied …
Temporary Protection in Europe After 1990: The “Right to Remain” of Genuine Convention Refugees

The wars of dissolution in the Former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995 created a refugee crisis on a scale unseen in Europe since the end of the Second World War. A chief aim of the aggressors in these wars of dissolution was to physically displace large numbers of people utilizing systematic terror campaings of murder, rape, torture, and other forms of intimidation - collectively known as ethnic cleansing. The goals of ethnic cleansing were to create ethnically pure territories within the former Republics, specifically those that previously confederated to form the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ), and to force the re-drawing of national boundaries to reflect the ethnic make-up of the newly devised majorities in these territories. This article addresses the problems inherent in the application of temporary protection to the large number of genuine 1951 Convention refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and argues that refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina who spent more than five years under temporary protection status in Europe and were in fact meeting criteria for the 1951 Convention status should be granted that refugee status and thus given the opportunity to remain in the countries where they have already integrated their lives and established intentional residence. It is further argued that by granting 1951 Convention status and later possibly applying the cessation clauses of the 1951 Convention Relevant to the Status of Refugees, would thereby better secure the ultimate goals of refugee protection. A timely and truly voluntary return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the application of the cessation clauses, would better serve the European States' ultimate idea that led to the introduction of the temporary protection regimes in respective states. In addtion, volunary return of citiznes of Bosnia and Herzegovina to their original homes will incorporate very important human element into the efforts for a lasting peace and stable future for the state.
The bias in time series volatility forecasts.

By Jensen's inequality, a model's forecasts of the variance and standard deviation of returns cannot both be unbiased. This study explores the bias in GARCH type model forecasts of the standard deviation of returns, which we argue is the more appropriate volatility measure for most financial applications. For a wide variety of markets, the GARCH, EGARCH, and GJR (or TGARCH) models tend to persistently over-estimate the standard deviation of returns, whereas the ARLS model of L. Ederington and W. Guan (2005a) does not. Furthermore, the GARCH and GJR forecasts are especially biased following high volatility days, which cause a large jump in forecast volatility, which is rarely fully realized. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 30:305–323, 2010
The Free-Market Approach to Adoption: The Value of a Baby

Adoption processes in the United States, once based on the altruistic child welfare model, have morphed to reoect the desires of would-be parents. The author argues that the current adoption model in the United States resembles an unregulated marketplace in children. Whether lawmakers and citizens wish to recognize this marketplace, its existence is demonstrated by frequent anancial transactions among adoptive parents, birth mothers, and adoption agencies that resemble payments. The author explores this marketplace and the way in which race, genetic traits, and class are implicated in adoption processes, resulting in higher fees associated with the adoption of children with desirable traits. The author proposes two mechanisms by which the government could regulate the adoption market—price caps and taxation. Ultimately, however, the author advocates greater transparency and information in the adoption process to protect the welfare of children who might otherwise be exploited in an unregulated adoption
The cyclical behavior of the Department of Justice’s antitrust enforcement activity

Abstract We study the cyclical behavior of antitrust enforcement as measured by the number of cases initiated by the US Department of Justice. The key result is that antitrust case activity is countercyclical. This finding is robust across alternate indicators of economic activity which include stock prices, corporate profits and business cycles, and across different types of cases. The finding of countercyclical case activity does not appear to lend support to interest-group theories that predict greater regulatory protection towards producers during economic contractions. One interpretation of our result would be that antitrust violations tend to increase during economic downturns, leading to an increase in the number of cases initiated, the broad implication being that the Antitrust Division primarily acts as an antitrust law enforcement agency. Our results show that politics, as measured by the party of the President and the Republican versus Democrat composition of the House and Senate, does not have a clear impact on case activity. Finally, the number of cases initiated are significantly affected by the extent of funding.
The Proper Scope of the Police Power

When it comes to identifying the powers of the federal government, we know where to look. Article I of the Constitution provides a list. When it comes to the power of states over their people, the issue has always been shrouded in doubt. For, though the Constitution provides a list of specific limitations on state powers along with an enumeration of certain rights, it appears to be silent on the question of the proper scope of what is called the police power of states. In this article, I will contend that the Constitution is not really silent on the proper scope of state powers; that the original meaning of what the Constitution says requires that state powers over their citizens have fairly easy to identify limits - though as with most constitutional provisions, applying these limits to particular cases requires judgment and is not a matter of strict deductive logic. This account will require me to briefly review the method of interpretation I advocate - original meaning originalism - and its limits. These limits require that interpretation of original meaning be implemented by means of constitutional constructions that enhance the legitimacy of the Constitution without violating the original meaning established by interpretation. I then examine the original meaning of the provision that provides the limit on state power: the Fourteenth Amendment. Finally I offer the construction of the scope of the police power of states that is consistent with that limitation: the police power of states includes the power to prohibit wrongful and to regulate rightful conduct of individuals.
Stronger protection or technological revolution: what is behind the recent surge in patenting?

Abstract We investigate the cause of an unprecedented surge of U.S. patenting over the past decade. Conventional wisdom points to the establishment of the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit by Congress in 1982. We examine whether this institutional change, which has benefited patent holders, explains the burst in U.S. patenting. Using both international and domestic data on patent applications and awards, we conclude that the evidence is not favorable to the conventional view. Instead, it appears that the jump in patenting reflects an increase in U.S. innovation spurred by changes in the management of research.
Measuring Critical Thinking Through Concept Maps: A Semester-long Experiment in Lifespan Course

Critical thinking forms the core of our knowledge base. Students in higher education need practice and refinement of this skill crucial to help in their personal and social lives. The purposes of this study was to create an opportunity for the students in Lifespan Human Development course (n=20) to learn, practice and enhance critical thinking and conceptualization skills. This was studied using the assignment of Concept Maps, assessing the criteria Basic content, In-depth information, Connections/Comparisons, Theoretical/Holistic Views, Creativity/Novelty. Results showed that students improved in their critical thinking skills over the semester showing three performance patternsâ€“Steady-progress, Inconsistent-progress, and Diffused. Researcher proposes that critical thinking ability to be introduced, practiced, supported, and promoted through deliberate instructional strategies and assessed regularly.
Strategy Fads and Competitive Convergence: An Empirical Test for Herd Behavior in Prime-Time Television Programming

The economics literature contains many theoretical analyses of imitation and differentiation strategies but relatively few empirical studies of these topics. This paper aims to address that shortcoming. I analyze program introductions by television networks and then compare the payoffs to imitative and differentiated introductions. The analysis indicates that the networks imitate each other when introducing new programs and that, on average, imitative introductions underperform differentiated introductions. These results are consistent with theoretical models of herd behavior but are difficult to explain using standard models of spatial competition or the possibility of omitted variable bias.
Financial Engineering and Rationality: Experimental Evidence Based on the Monty Hall Problem

Financial engineering often involves reconfiguring existing financial assets to create new financial products. This article investigates whether financial engineering can alter the environment so that irrational agents can quickly learn to be rational. We design two financial assets that embed the Monty Hall problem, a well-studied choice anomaly. Our experiment requires each subject to value one of these assets. Although these assets are equivalent in terms of standard choice theory, valuation experience with one of the assets lowers the subjects' cognitive error rates more than valuation experience with the other asset. We conclude that financial engineering can create learning opportunities and reduce cognitive errors.
The disciplinary effects of non-debt liabilities: Evidence from asbestos litigation

Abstract I study firms with past asbestos ties that suffer from significant increases in legal liabilities after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1999. This event provides a natural experiment setting to estimate the indirect effects of financial distress on real activities. While direct litigation and bankruptcy costs are significant, value computations and clinical evidence at the operational level show that defendant firms suffer only minor indirect costs of financial distress. Furthermore, these firms actively restructure and refocus on core operations during distress. Overall, my results provide support for potentially significant disciplinary effects of non-debt liabilities.
Rethinking the Costs of International Delegations

A prominent criticism of United States delegations to international institutions—or international delegations—focuses on agency costs. The criticism draws a stark contrast between international delegations and domestic delegations. For domestic delegations to agencies, U.S. congressional, executive, and judicial oversight mechanisms exist to try to ensure agency accountability. Since the agency is democratically accountable, agency costs are low. For international delegations of binding authority to international institutions, however, the conventional wisdom is that oversight mechanisms are absent and the United States cannot monitor the international institution to ensure it acts within its delegated authority. Therefore, in the international context, agency costs are high. The fear of high agency costs through the loss of democratic accountability, so the argument goes, justifies constitutionally inspired limits on international delegations. This Article challenges the conventional wisdom. It argues that the claim of high agency costs rests on weak foundations because agency costs will likely vary depending on the type, scope, and nature of the delegation; that the United States has actually implemented many of the domestic oversight tools in the international context, ensuring a surprisingly high level of accountability to American interests; and that the potential costs and benefits of international delegations may not be substantially different from those in domestic delegations. In other words, it is unlikely that there are * Assistant Professor of Law, The University of Chicago Law School. Thanks to Anu Bradford, Tom Ginsburg, Todd Henderson, Aziz Huq, Jonathan Masur, Eric Posner, Lior Strahilevitz, Sherod Thaxton, and the participants at the Harvard-Duke Foreign Affairs Law Conference, the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s Center for Law and Global Affairs Colloquium, and the Wharton/CU International Law Workshop for comments and suggestions. Excellent research assistance was provided by Gregory Pesce, Melissa Gworek, and Christopher Wall. Thanks to the George J. Phocas Fund for support on this project. All mistakes are mine. 02_ABEBE (DO NOT DELETE) 8/6/2013 7:53 PM 492 U. Pa. J. Int’l L. [Vol. 34:3 dramatic differences between domestic and international delegations with respect to the efficacy of oversight mechanisms or the balance of costs and benefits. This Article concludes that constitutionally-inspired limits on binding international delegations are probably unnecessary because they will increase the costs for the United States to participate in potentially beneficial international cooperation.
Managing Interdependent Information Security Risks: Cyberinsurance, Managed Security Services, and Risk Pooling Arrangements

The interdependency of information security risks often induces firms to invest inefficiently in information technology security management. Cyberinsurance has been proposed as a promising solution to help firms optimize security spending. However, cyberinsurance is ineffective in addressing the investment inefficiency caused by risk interdependency. In this paper, we examine two alternative risk management approaches: risk pooling arrangements (RPAs) and managed security services (MSSs). We show that firms can use an RPA as a complement to cyberinsurance to address the overinvestment issue caused by negative externalities of security investments; however, the adoption of an RPA is not incentive-compatible for firms when the security investments generate positive externalities. We then show that the MSS provider serving multiple firms can internalize the externalities of security investments and mitigate the security investment inefficiency. As a result of risk interdependency, collective outsourcing arises as an equilibrium only when the total number of firms is small.
Two Stories About Skin Color and International Human Rights Advocacy

Color is an important but underdeveloped designation in international law. It is identified as a protected category in several human rights documents. Despite its status as a protected category, there is no definition of color in these documents. In the absence of an established definition, race is often used as a proxy for color. Yet, there is growing skepticism within the human rights community about the legitimacy of using racial categories to distinguish human beings. While race and color are often used interchangeably, it is important to treat color as a distinct category. Race and color do not always match. This distinction is also significant in light of growing concerns about the legitimacy of racial categories and the continuing impact of skin color on human behavior. In this country and throughout the world, the difference between life and death can often be measured by degrees of pigmentation. This Article offers two stories about skin color and international human rights advocacy. The first story is well known while the second story is not. Both stories are unique because each story marks a distinct life. And, yet, these stories mirror the experiences of countless people around the world. Both stories address international law and the role of international human rights mechanisms in protecting individuals from discrimination and persecution based on skin color. And, both stories highlight the benefits of international human rights advocacy.
Causal structure and hierarchies of models

Abstract Economics prefers complete explanations: general over partial equilibrium, microfoundational over aggregate. Similarly, probabilistic accounts of causation frequently prefer greater detail to less as in typical resolutions of Simpson’s paradox. Strategies of causal refinement equally aim to distinguish direct from indirect causes. Yet, there are countervailing practices in economics. Representative-agent models aim to capture economic motivation but not to reduce the level of aggregation. Small structural vector-autoregression and dynamic stochastic general-equilibrium models are practically preferred to larger ones. The distinction between exogenous and endogenous variables suggests partitioning the world into distinct subsystems. The tension in these practices is addressed within a structural account of causation inspired by the work of Herbert Simon’s, which defines cause with reference to complete systems adapted to deal with incomplete systems and piecemeal evidence. The focus is on understanding the constraints that a structural account of causation places on the freedom to model complex or lower-order systems as simpler or higher-order systems and on to what degree piecemeal evidence can be incorporated into a structural account.
Population aging in Japan: demographic shock and fiscal sustainability

Abstract The paper develops a general equilibrium framework to examine the economic implications of population aging in Japan. Particular attention is paid to aggregate saving behavior, which is modeled on the basis of empirical age-earnings profiles using a life-cycle approach. The paper estimates the output loss caused by demographic changes and assesses the impact of aging on Japan’s government finances. Key fiscal policy options to address the consequences of aging are also compared with respect to their effects on growth and welfare.
Proportionality in Non-Capital Sentencing: The Supreme Court's Tortured Approach to Cruel and Unusual Punishment

This Article examines the Supreme Court's treatment of the Eighth Amendment with respect to claims of excessive prison sentences. Specifically, it addresses the issue of whether and to what degree the Eighth Amendment requires that a punishment not be disproportionate to the crime. In analyzing all of the modern holdings of the Court in this area, this Article finds significant fault with each. The result of this series of flawed opinions from the Supreme Court is that the state of the law with respect to proportionality in sentencing is confused, and what law can be discerned rests on weak foundations.This Article begins with an analysis of the modern proportionality decisions of the Supreme Court in non-capital cases. It discusses the various approaches taken by members of the Court and tracks these approaches through each of the cases. The second portion discusses the philosophical justifications of punishment and the impact these justifications have on attempts to frame a proportionality standard. This Article concludes by recommending a constitutional standard consistent with accepted philosophical justifications of punishment and embodying principles determined by the Supreme Court to be of critical importance.
Volume, volatility, liquidity and efficiency of the Singapore Stock Exchange before and after automation

Abstract The Singapore Stock Exchange automated fully in 1989. We discuss the reasons why automation could influence aspects of trading such as volume, volatility, liquidity, market efficiency and bid—ask spreads. Examination of 28 securities suggests that automation is associated with increases in volumes traded, return volatility and liquidity as defined by the ratio of volume to volatility. Improvements in market efficiency appear in reduced serial correlations of returns. Bid-ask spreads and their variability widen somewhat.
Crime Reduction and the Length of Prison Sentences

The issue discussed is whether policies of imposing increasingly lengthy prison sentences on serious criminal offenders reduce crime. The empirical evidence for the deterrence and incapacitation effects of incarceration is first examined and found to be of limited help in answering the question whether lengthy prison sentences reduce crime. Conceptual and normative analysis of deterrence and incapacitation suggest that we have little reason to believe that the general use of lengthy prison terms produces more good than harm for society, especially if the burdens of and alternatives to such prison terms are taken into account.
The Federal Role in the Innocence Movement in America

Despite its small contribution to the ranks of the exonerated, and more broadly its relatively small share of all criminal cases, the federal government has played a distinct and important role in ...
Domestic Violence and the Politics of Self-Help

Self-help programs are conceptualized as alternatives to attorney representation that can help both courts and unrepresented litigants. The rhetoric of self-help also typically includes empowering unrepresented individuals to help themselves. But how do self-help programs respond to litigants’ efforts at self-advocacy? This Article reports findings from a study of courthouse self-help programs assisting unrepresented litigants applying for protection orders. The central finding is that self-help staff members were not neutral in the provision of services despite a professed ethic of neutrality. Using the sociological concept of demeanor, this Article shows that staff members rewarded protection order applicants who conformed to stereotypes about domestic violence victims and responded negatively to litigants who raised questions or sought assistance outside the scope of narrowly defined services. Staff members also failed to provide assistance with important economic remedies and de-prioritized safety planning and referrals to vital antiviolence services. In these and other ways, staff members influenced what relief was sought and by whom. This finding is especially troubling given the overarching goals of domestic violence protection orders to increase safety and empower low-income women, and has broad implications for studying access to justice and law and social movements. This Article also contributes to the analysis of demeanor by expanding previous typologies with the addition of two new categories: token supportive demeanor, and apathetic demeanor. These additions further account for how authority is displayed in legal settings, and how law is implemented through everyday interactions as well as formal decision-making.
Basic Principles of Asset Pricing Theory: Evidence from Large-Scale Experimental Financial Markets

We report on two sets of large-scale financial markets experiments that were designed to test the central proposition of modern asset pricing theory, namely, that risk premia are solely determined by covariance with aggregate risk. We analyze the pricing within the framework suggested by two theoretical models, namely, the (general) Arrow and Debreu's complete-markets model, and the (more specific) Sharpe-Lintner-Mossin Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Completeness of the asset payoff structure justifies the former; the small (albeit non-negligible) risks justifies the latter. We observe swift convergence towards price patterns predicted in the Arrow and Debreu and CAPM models. This observation is significant, because subjects always lack the information to deliberately set asset prices using either model. In the first set of experiments, however, equilibration is not always robust, with markets temporarily veering away. We conjecture that this reflects our failure to control subjects' beliefs about the temporal independence of the payouts. Confirming this conjecture, the anomaly disappears in a second set of experiments, where states were drawn without replacement. We formally test whether CAPM and Arrow-Debreu equilibrium can be used to predict price movements in our experiments and confirm the hypothesis. When multiplying the subject payout tenfold (in real terms), to US $ 500 on average for a 3-h experiment, the results are unaltered, except for an increase in the recorded risk premia.
Earnings disclosures and stockholder lawsuits

Abstract This paper provides evidence on whether managers can reduce stockholder litigation costs by disclosing adverse earnings news ‘early’. Inconsistent with this idea, I find that voluntary disclosures occur more frequently in quarters that result in litigation than in quarters that do not. However, this result occurs because managers' incentives to predisclose earnings news increase as the news becomes more adverse, presumably because this reduces the cost of resolving litigation that inevitably follows in bad news quarters. After controlling for these incentives using estimated stockholder damages, I find some evidence that more timely disclosure is associated with lower settlement amounts.
Eliciting information about the values of HRM practitioners using laddering interviews

This paper reports on the findings of the first stage of a research project that experiments with the use of laddering technique in an attempt to enhance understanding of the influence of values in the behaviour of HRM professionals. Laddering has been chosen because it allows flexible, systematic investigation of aspects of ethics and people management which have hitherto been difficult to clarify. It also provides the opportunity to undertake both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data obtained. The research design incorporates two phases – a questionnaire and a laddering interview; it involves a sample of respondents drawn from HRM practitioners participating in the CIPD Professional Qualification Scheme. In comparing the results obtained from each phase of the research, it is clear that the laddering interviews have enabled more detailed information to be elicited and more specific goals to be identified. The authors believe that laddering can provide valuable additional insight into ethical practice, behaviour and goals.
Banks as coordinators of economic growth and stability: Microfoundation for macroeconomy with externality

Abstract Competition among banks promotes growth and stability for an economy with production externality. Following Arrow and Debreu (1954) [6] , I formulate a standard growth model with externality—a two-period version of Romer (1986) [39] —as a game among consumers, firms, and intermediaries. The Walrasian equilibrium, with an auctioneer, does not achieve the social optimum. Without an auctioneer or intermediaries, I show that no Nash equilibrium exists. With several banks strategically intermediating capital, a Nash equilibrium emerges with a realistic institution, i.e., an interbank market with a negotiation process in the loan market. The equilibrium outcome is uniquely determined and socially optimal.
Actions speak louder than modes: antecedents and implications of parent implementation capabilities on business unit performance

Firm boundaries and strategic execution affect the firm's ability to generate rents, grow, and survive. Boundaries are determined through governance mode choices, such as whether to make or buy a particular good or activity. While significant work has addressed the performance implications of this fit, less attention has been directed toward strategic execution, or implementation. In particular, the impact of corporate parents has been understudied. We suggest that parent-level implementation capabilities of operating expertise gained through related experience and coordination from collocation combine with governance mode choices to jointly affect performance. By employing theories of organizational economics and testing predictions in casual dining chains, this paper unpacks the relationship between implementation, governance mode choice, and performance. Our findings suggest that parent capabilities may be more important than mode choice fit and that parent benefits are contingent upon mode choice and type of performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of nonprofits in the production of boilerplate

Drafting contracts-by which I really mean the documents that embody contracts-requires investments of time, experience, and ingenuity. Those investments may yield significant returns because the qu...
Discretionary reductions in warrant exercise prices

Abstract Managers can decide to reduce a warrant's exercise price. A reduction in exercise price can induce exercise (a conversion-forcing reduction) or not (a long-term reduction). Conversion-forcing firms show an abnormal return of −1.53% on the announcement day but they perform well over the three years following the announcement. This finding suggests that the funds raised from warrant exercise are invested in profitable projects. Long-term reductions show an abnormal return of −1.15% on the announcement day. These firms also perform well following the reduction, which suggests that the lower exercise price restores managerial incentives.