cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emergent Symbols through Binding in External Memory

A key aspect of human intelligence is the ability to infer abstract rules directly from high-dimensional sensory data, and to do so given only a limited amount of training experience. Deep neural network algorithms have proven to be a powerful tool for learning directly from high-dimensional data, but currently lack this capacity for data-efficient induction of abstract rules, leading some to argue that symbol-processing mechanisms will be necessary to account for this capacity. In this work, we take a step toward bridging this gap by introducing the Emergent Symbol Binding Network (ESBN), a recurrent network augmented with an external memory that enables a form of variable-binding and indirection. This binding mechanism allows symbol-like representations to emerge through the learning process without the need to explicitly incorporate symbol-processing machinery, enabling the ESBN to learn rules in a manner that is abstracted away from the particular entities to which those rules apply. Across a series of tasks, we show that this architecture displays nearly perfect generalization of learned rules to novel entities given only a limited number of training examples, and outperforms a number of other competitive neural network architectures.
Porosity in polysilsesquioxane xerogels

Polysilsesquioxanes, [RSiO{sub 1.5}]{sub n} are a class of hybrid organic-inorganic materials in which silicon atoms are linked with up to three siloxane bonds to other monomer units in the polymer and the organic group is a pendent functionality. Polysilsesquioxanes are prepared by the hydrolysis and condensation of organotrialkoxysilanes (Scheme l). Organotrialkoxysilanes RSi(OR{prime}){sub 3}, have been extensively used as coupling agents for composites or surface treatments for materials. Polysilsesquioxanes have become increasingly popular for generating specialty coatings such as low k dielectric materials for microelectronic applications. While there is extensive information on the formation of polysilsesquioxanes, there has not been a survey of the ability of organotrialkoxysilanes to form gels until recently. The formation of polysilsesquioxanes gels has been shown to be very sensitive to the nature of the organic group. Many monomers will only form soluble oligomers or polymers upon hydrolysis and condensation, even when the reaction is conducted solvent-free with neat monomer and aqueous catalyst. Furthermore, there is little information concerning the influence of the organic group, R, on the porosity of the polysilsesquioxanes gels that are formed. In this paper the authors describe the preparation of polysilsesquioxane gels where R = H, methyl, ethyl, cyanoethyl, vinyl, dodecyl, hexadecyl, octadecyl, chloromethyl, and chloromethylphenyl, and the characterization of the porosity of the respective xerogels. Gels were prepared from the hydrolysis and condensation of organotrimethoxysilanes, RSi(OEt){sub 3}, and organotriethoxy-silanes, RSi(OEt){sub 3}.
Reconstructing Weak and Failed States: Foreign Intervention and the Nirvana Fallacy

Attempts to reconstruct weak and failed countries suffer from a nirvana fallacy. Where central governments are absent or dysfunctional, it is assumed that reconstruction efforts by foreign governments generate a preferable outcome. This assumption overlooks (1) the possibility that foreign government interventions can fail, (2) the possibility that reconstruction efforts can do more harm than good, and (3) the possibility that indigenous governance mechanisms may evolve that are more effective than those imposed by military occupiers. It is argued that reconstruction efforts focus on resolving the meta-level game of creating self-sustaining liberal democratic institutions while neglecting the nested games embedded within the general meta-game. An analysis of Somalia, a prototypical failed state, is provided to illuminate these claims. While Somalia lacks a central government, the private sector has developed coping mechanisms to fill the void. These mechanisms have proven to be more effective in generating widespread order than attempts by foreign occupiers to impose a self-sustaining liberal state.
Doing Business with Government: Are Prospective Suppliers Entitled to Procedural Due Process?

This comment outlines the constitutional rights of prospective government contractors and the development of the concept of "property" as it has evolved in procedural due process cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States before 1979. It will then apply those concepts to the facts in Polyvend, Inc. v. Puckorius and will contrast the doctrines elaborated by the United States Supreme Court with the reasoning of the court in Polyvend. That comparison will lead to the conclusion that the Polyvend decision is not consistent with either the procedural due process opinions of the United States Supreme Court or with the decisions of the Supreme Court of Illinois. It will also be shown that the Polyvend opinion provides the basis for an expansion of due process challenges to valid legislative enactments.
Welfare Works: Explaining Female Legislative Representation

This study aims to advance our understanding of why women are underrepresented in legislatures around the world, and what accounts for the wide variation over time and across countries. Scholars generally agree on many of the favorable conditions for women to enter parliament, including, inter alia, proportional representation, leftism in government, and female employment. However, the mechanisms that link women’s seat shares to the supposed explanatory factors are still poorly understood. In this study, we argue that the key link resides in welfare state policies that 1) free women to enter the paid workforce, 2) provide public sector jobs that disproportionately employ women, and 3) change the political interests of working women enough to create an ideological gender gap. The emergence of this gender gap, in turn, creates incentives for parties to compete for the female vote, and one way that they do so is to include more and more women in their parliamentary delegations.
Weather-Induced Mood, Institutional Investors, and Stock Returns

This study shows that weather-based indicators of mood impact perceptions of mispricing and trading decisions of institutional investors. Using survey and disaggregated trade data, we show that relatively cloudier days increase perceived overpricing in individual stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Index and increase selling propensities of institutions. We introduce stock-level measures of investor mood; investor optimism positively impacts stock returns among stocks with higher arbitrage costs, and stocks experiencing similar investor mood exhibit return comovement. These findings complement existing studies on how weather impacts stock index returns and identify another channel through which it can manifest.
How Do Financing Constraints Affect Firms’ Equity Volatility?

Theory suggests that financing frictions can have significant implications for equity volatility by shaping firms’ exposure to economic risks. This paper provides evidence that an important determinant of higher equity volatility among research and development (R&D)‐intensive firms is fewer financing constraints on firms’ ability to access growth options. I provide evidence for this effect by studying how persistent shocks to the value of firms’ tangible assets (real estate) affect their subsequent equity volatility. The analysis addresses concerns about the identification of these balance sheet effects and shows that these effects are consistent with broader patterns on the equity volatility of R&D‐intensive firms.
Hassle Costs, Price-Matching Guarantees and Price Competition: An Experiment

We experimentally investigate whether the collusion-facilitating nature of price-matching guarantees survives the introduction of hassle costs incurred by buyers to enforce these guarantees. The presence of an arbitrarily small number of positive hassle costs buyers may completely undermine incentives for collusion. To evaluate this possibility, we develop four one-shot price competition models that test the hassle cost argument by varying proportions of positive and zero hassle cost buyers present in the market. Although the theory predicts that the competitive price should emerge in equilibrium in all four models, we experimentally find significant price differences.
Does Public Employee Collective Bargaining Distort Democracy? A Perspective from the United States

The beginning of the second decade of the 21st century saw renewed attacks on public employee collective bargaining, which included claims that allowing public employees to organize and bargain collectively distorts democratic processes. These renewed attacks included the traditional claim that public employee collective bargaining inappropriately gives one interest group, workers and their unions, an avenue of access to public decision-makers that is not available to other interest groups. The attack also raised a new claim of distortion of democratic processes: that unions are inappropriately advantaged in the broader political process through agency shop or fair share and dues check-off provisions of their collective bargaining agreements.This article addresses both prongs of the claim that public employee collective bargaining distorts democracy. It argues that the recent response to the claim that unions gain an avenue of exclusive access to public decision-makers has been to increase employer unilateral control over terms and conditions of employment, a response that is at best counterproductive. It urges creative experimentation that breaks away from the private sector dichotomy that mandates traditional collective bargaining or leaves a matter to unilateral employer control to develop alternative forms for worker voice.The article then refutes the claim that agency shop or fair share fees and dues check-off inappropriately advantage unions in the public political process. It shows how arguments against agency shop and fair share fees misrepresent the law. It further shows that rather than privilege unions to use non-members’ money on ideological activity to which the non-members object, agency shop and fair share fees protect the union from having to divert resources that it might otherwise spend on ideological activity to subsidize services for non-members who are legally entitled to fair representation by the union. The article debunks the claim that dues check-off is coercive, establishing that it is voluntary, and demonstrates that the attacks on dues check-off are motivated by the attackers’ dislike for the positions taken by unions and not by any principled basis.
Investment Decisions and Managerial Performance Evaluation

This paper considers incentive provisions for a manager who makes investment decisions. The manager's performance measure can be based on current accounting information: cash flow, depreciation, book value, and current investment. We argue that Residual Income is the unique (linear) performance measure that achieves goal congruence, i.e., the manager accepts all positive NPV projects, and only those. If the manager has the same discount rate as the owner, the depreciation rules remain indeterminate. However, if the manager's discount rate assumes potentially a whole range of values, then a particular depreciation policy combined with Residual Income is the unique way to achieve goal congruence.
We the Leaders: In Order to Form a Leaderful Organization:

This article endeavors to develop an emerging paradigm of leadership for our organizations known as "leaderful practice." Leaderful practice constitutes a direct challenge to the conventional view of leadership as "being out in front. " It is submitted that in the 21st Century organization, everyone will need to share the experience of serving as a leader, not sequentially, but concurrently and collectively. In other words, leaders need to co-exist at the same time and all together. In addition, each member of an organization will be encouraged to make a unique contribution to its growth, both independently and interdependently with others. In this sense, organizational members will aspire to become fervently collaborative, which in turn is derived from their compassion toward other human beings. Their well-developed sense of self permits them to develop a deep consideration of others. Thus, the article makes the case that the only possible way to lead ourselves out of trouble in management is to become m...
Rodrigo's Eleventh Chronicle: Empathy and False Empathy

Empathy is said to be a valuable trait and in short supply, especially among judges who would benefit by developing more of it. In this Rodrigo chronicle (part of a continuing series), my alter ego and his straight man ("the Professor") express their doubts. Empathy can be false, misguided, or sentimental, consisting of useless breast-beating. In a famous example, a wife gives her husband a pair of tickets to the opera; he gives her a lug wrench. Each present is something the giver would have wanted, but the recipient does not. The chronicle discusses various kinds of false empathy and how to avoid them.
Do Investors See through Mistakes in Reported Earnings

This study investigates whether investors see through materially misstated earnings, and whether they anticipate earnings restatements. For firms that restate at least one annual report, we find that investors are misled by mistakes in reported earnings at the time of initial earnings announcements. Investors react positively to the component of the favorable earnings surprise that will subsequently be restated, and they attach the same valuation to it as to the true earnings surprise. We also find that investors anticipate the subsequent downward restatements and start marking stock prices down several months before a restatement announcement, so that the full impact of a restatement is about three times as large as the restatement announcement effect. Indeed, we show that investors punish restating firms because the stock price gains that shareholders enjoy when firms initially announce overstated earnings are more than reversed by the time of the restatement announcement.
Professional Identity and the Contours of Prudence

This article was presented as part of a symposium on Catholic social thought, prudential judgment, and public policy. I use the virtue of prudence as a lens through which to analyze the relationship between conscience and professional identity, asserting that prudence requires a consideration of the context in which an actor's conscience is to be exercised. In many of our current disputes over conscience, our understanding of an actor's context will require an understanding of an actor's professional role. This article will endeavor to elucidate the relevance of prudence to professional role by comparing and contrasting the roles of judges and lawyers. In this context, at least, the contours of prudential judgment are informed by market dynamics: lawyers are market actors; judges are not. The professional's stance toward those whom they serve, and our evaluation of the way in which they serve, will turn on this distinction. The application of principles such as solidarity, subsidiarity, reciprocity, and the common good lead to sharply different conclusions regarding the prudent role of personal moral convictions in the work of a judge versus that of a lawyer.
Investment and saving and the euro crisis: A new look at Feldstein–Horioka

Abstract We examine the relationship between investment and saving for a cross section of European countries before and during the euro crisis. As has historically been found, investment is positively and significantly related to saving. This relationship shows evidence of being stronger during the height of the euro crisis. This increase is a departure from a general decline in the relationship over time.
Decision Making in Information-Rich Environments: the Role of Information Structure

Today's consumers are often overloaded with information. This article argues that traditional approaches to measuring the amount of information in a choice set fail to account for important structural dimensions of information and may therefore incorrectly predict information overload. Two experiments show that a structural approach to measuring information, such as information theory, is better able to predict information overload and that information structure also has important implications for information acquisition. A Monte-Carlo simulation, in which decision rules are applied to multiple information environments, shows that the amount of information processing mediates the relationship between information structure and information overload.
The Recent Transformation of Medical Liability in Jewish Law

Until the Twentieth Century Jewish law sources provided that licensed doctors who erred would be liable only in a heavenly court. Modern authorities, including leading Ultra-Orthodox rabbis, Israeli court judges, and scholars who seek to have Israeli law incorporate aspects of Jewish law, have used a variety of techniques to bring Jewish law into line with Western norms by redefining the standard of care and the measure of damages and by imposing liability for omissions and for failure to obtain informed consent. There are substantial costs to these efforts.Older texts that retain their sanctity do not easily yield to radical reinterpretation, and one is likely to lose sight that Jewish law has its own goals for it sees compensation as a means to atonement, not as an end in itself or as a means of corrective justice or deterrence. The Article considers several other means of bridging the gap between the classical sources and modern needs and finds them unsatisfactory. Drawing on an analogous problem in American Admiralty law, the Article concludes that given the changes in the theory and practice of medicine, radical reinterpretation is, despite its costs, appropriate both for those who want to be governed directly by Jewish law and those wanting Jewish law to be a source of Israeli law. The earlier codes of Jewish law addressed the needs of their time when doctors had great reason to fear that they would harm their patients. Medicine was largely based on a priori theory, not science. Today's doctors have less reason to fear and have a better understanding of the risks.
DO NEWLY RETIRED WORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN WELL-BEING?

A current policy issue is the extent to which savings are sufficient to sustain economic well-being in retirement. We compare annuitized wealth at retirement to three preretirement consumption estimates. About one-half of new retirees have insufficient resources to enable the full maintenance of estimated preretirement consumption in retirement, and about 40% fail to meet the ‘‘0.7 of earnings’’ standard that is used in many studies. Using standards reflecting social (poverty) norms we find a less serious problem. About 5% (25%) of new retirees have insufficient resources to enable an above-poverty (near-poverty) level of living during retirement. (JEL J14, J26)
On the mathematical foundations of political economy

Political economy views economic issues through the lens of political organisation. In today's world, it must focus on the roles of markets and of democracy, two concepts which are driving revolutionary changes in the political organisation of both Europe and Asia. There are two main paradigms for the analysis of markets and democracy, both of which have been mathematically advanced over a number of years: the general equilibrium theory of markets, and social choice theory, which examines practical aspects of democracy.' While it is true that political economy has made some limited use of the latter in order to examine political-economic issues of democracy, it has made little use of the former, the theory of market behaviour.
Individual Learning and Cooperation in Noisy Repeated Games

We investigate whether two players in a long-run relationship can maintain cooperation when the details of the underlying game are unknown. Specifically, we consider a new class of repeated games with private monitoring, where an unobservable state of the world influences the payoff functions and/or the monitoring structure. Each player privately learns the state over time but cannot observe what the opponent learned. We show that there are robust equilibria in which players eventually obtain payoffs as if the true state were common knowledge and players played a "belief-free" equilibrium. We also provide explicit equilibrium constructions in various economic examples. Copyright 2014, Oxford University Press.
The Parallel Law of Lawyering in Civil Litigation

Civil litigators are increasingly governed by a body of law that is similar, but not identical, to existing rules of professional conduct. For example, Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule 4.4(b) of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct both address a lawyer’s obligations upon receiving an inadvertently disclosed privileged document. Model Rule 4.4(b), however, only requires the receiving lawyer to notify the sender of the mistake,1 whereas the civil procedure rule imposes additional obligations, including a duty to return the inadvertently disclosed document.2 Scholars,3 as well as the Model Rules themselves,4
The Rise of Europe: Atlantic Trade, Institutional Change, and Economic Growth

The rise of Western Europe after 1500 is due largely to growth in countries with access to the Atlantic Ocean and with substantial trade with the New World, Africa, and Asia via the Atlantic. This trade and the associatedcolonialism affected Europe not only directly, but also indirectly by inducing institutional change. Where "initial" political institutions (those established before 1500) placed significant checks on the monarchy, the growth of Atlantic trade strengthened merchant groups by constraining the power of the monarchy, and helped merchants obtain changes in institutions to protect property rights. These changes were central to subsequent economic growth.
The impact of financial literacy on negotiation behavior

Abstract This research investigates the role of financial literacy on initiating and achieving a favorable negotiation outcome in an employment context. With a goal of improving long-term financial well-being, extant research examines whether increasing a person's understanding of basic financial concepts (“financial literacy”) improves his/her financial decision-making. The current research proposes broader effects of financial literacy via negotiation behavior. We follow prior research to measure financial literacy both objectively (as the accurate assessment of basic financial concepts, “financial knowledge”) and subjectively (as confidence in the application of basic financial skills and concepts, “financial confidence”). In a series of studies engaging students from undergraduate business courses and adults recruited from an online crowdsourcing service, this research examines the relationship between these measures of financial literacy and (a) the likelihood of initiating a negotiation and (b) the likely outcome from a negotiation, if initiated. Results suggest that financial confidence impacts participants’ willingness to engage in negotiation, while financial knowledge impacts the level of participants’ first offer. These findings suggest financial literacy has important implications for career advancement and compensation, as well as the successful management of interpersonal communications, even in fields not traditionally thought of as focusing on numerical reasoning skills.
Restitution and the Excessive Fines Clause

Restitution is a component of many criminal sentences. There is little agreement, however, upon whether and how the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution limits restitution orders in criminal cases. Courts have long been divided over whether the Excessive Fines Clause applies to restitution orders at all, whether to apply the “grossly disproportional” test to restitution orders or some other causation-based test, and how to measure gross disproportionality in the restitution context. First, the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment should be read as a limit on restitution orders in criminal cases. The Eighth Amendment applies because these monetary payments are partially punitive. And, although restitution payments are not made to the sovereign, the concept of “fines” for purposes of the Excessive Fines Clause is properly understood to encompass payments to third parties that result from government-initiated action. Second, the same “grossly disproportional” test that has been applied to criminal fines and forfeitures should apply to restitution orders as well. Indeed, all monetary sanctions should be pooled together for purposes of a single Excessive Fines Clause proportionality analysis. The constitutionally-relevant question should be whether an offender’s total monetary sanction is grossly disproportional to the gravity of the offense. Although causation between the offense conduct and the victim’s loss is generally a statutory requirement of restitution orders, it is not a constitutional one. The causation requirement furthers restitution’s remedial purpose; it is not relevant to the Eighth Amendment’s excessiveness inquiry, which functions to limit the punitive severity of monetary sanctions. Lastly, the question of gross disproportionality is largely an exercise of judgment that should be left to the judiciary. Some courts have inappropriately wholly relied on analyzing whether the monetary sanction was authorized by the legislature in assessing the constitutionality of the penalty. This approach inappropriately collapses the constitutional inquiry into the statutory one. Although the statutory restitution or fine range may be a useful input in the constitutional analysis, it cannot be the sole component. In the end, the judiciary's independent judgment must be trusted to weigh proportionality and detect unconstitutionally excessive monetary sanctions.
Estimating a covariance matrix for market risk management and the case of credit default swaps

We analyze covariance matrix estimation from the perspective of market risk management, where the goal is to obtain accurate estimates of portfolio risk across essentially all portfolios—even those...
The Impact of Technological Change on Work and Wages

This review begins with a discussion of how technology affects wage structures. The literature reviewed is divided into two segments—studies of the impact of technological change on wages (and growing inequality), productivity, and employment and studies of the interrelationship of technology, human resource systems, and labor productivity. We conclude with suggestions for future research topics. Overall, we find that technological change accounts for only part of the changing wage structure in the United States, whereas changes in institutional forces that affect the creation of industry rents and the distribution of rents are also an important factor.
Team member experiences in new product development: views from the trenches

Although cross-functional teams are often used for new product development (NPD), many companies struggle to implement them successfully. Through in-depth interviews with 71 team members from 18 companies in a variety of technology-based industries, this study focuses on the experiences of the people who actually do much of the work of NPD (team members) and explores their perceptions and attitudes about cross-functional team assignments. The purpose of our study is to identify the factors that influence and shape NPD team member experiences. Our results suggest that although NPD work can be rewarding and productive, NPD team members are often neglected by other team members, project leaders, and senior management. This sense of neglect has important implications for all of these constituencies, but particularly for senior management.
Same-Sex Marriages and Civil Unions: On Meaning, Free Exercise, and Constitutional Guarantees

The state interests allegedly promoted by prohibiting same-sex marriage include the interests in upholding religious values generally and the religious view of marriage in particular. Yet, there is no universal agreement among religions about the permissibility of same-sex unions and thus those who suggest that the same-sex marriage debate is between those who respect religious values and those who do not are mischaracterizing the participants in the debate. Indeed, the state's refusal to recognize same-sex unions notwithstanding their recognition by some religions implicates constitutional guarantees, and it is not at all clear that the states can justify such a refusal without stating with more specificity what substantial threat to public safety would be posed by recognizing such unions. Civil unions, which accord same-sex couples the legal benefits and responsibilities of marriage but which are not the equivalent of marriage, seem designed to suggest the second-class status and lack of spiritual significance of same-sex relationships. Yet, states should not be deciding which religious practices do not have spiritual significance and certainly should not be precluding individuals from marrying out of deference to the religious sensibilities of some. Ironically, those who trumpet respect for religion in the same-sex marriage debate do not seem to appreciate that Free Exercise jurisprudence helps establish why same-sex unions should rather than should not be recognized by the state.
Thrombospondin-1 Promotes Circuit-Specific Synapse Formation Via β1-Integrin

Glial cells regulate synaptic connectivity during development, but whether they selectively instruct the formation of specific synaptic circuits is not known. Here we show that the major perisynaptic glia of the retina, the Muller glia (MG), control the proper establishment of the direction-selective (DS) circuit by a synaptogenic protein, Thrombospondin 1 (TSP1). We found that TSP1 promotes excitatory synapse formation specifically in on-off Direction-Selective retinal Ganglion Cells (ooDSGCs). Lack of TSP1 leads to reduced synapse formation within the inner plexiform sublayers containing DS-circuit, resulting in deficits of ooDSGC function. Even though pan-TSP receptor, α2δ-1, interaction is required for TSP1-induced synapse formation, the ooDSGC-subtype specificity of TSP1 is conferred by a second neuronal TSP1 receptor, β1-Integrin. Furthermore, conditional deletion of β1-Integrin in ooDSGCs results in diminished excitatory synapse formation without disturbing laminar organization showing that MG-secreted TSP1 controls circuit-specific synapse formation via β1-Integrin.
the Sacred Heart: a case for stimulus diffusion

The Roman Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart, symbolized by a realistically depicted human heart, often flaming, first appeared in Europe in the seventeenth century. Officially sanctioned by the visions of a French nun in 1673–1675, the devotion had in fact been proselytized by liberal French theologians from the beginning of that century. During the prior century, realistic human hearts appear in Mexican colonial art, probably the missionaries' efforts to transliterate Preconquest symbols into Christian icons. This paper suggests that the fervent interest of humanistic European theologians in the Mexican missionary field resulted from stimulus diffusion in the development of the Catholic devotion addressed to Jesus' human heart.
Ethnic politics and Ebola response in West Africa

Abstract In 2014, the deadliest Ebola outbreaks in history erupted in West Africa and infected within a year nearly 30,000 people across the region. Besides its unprecedented human toll, the epidemic exacted significant economic losses through its spillover effect on employment, confidence, trade, and tourism. This paper examines the role of political inclusion in the vulnerability to the 2014 Ebola crisis in Guinea and Sierra Leone using a unique dataset on the ethnic composition of the ruling coalitions during the crisis. Exploiting subdistrict-level variation in Ebola incidents and assigning total infections to the majority ethnic group of the subdistrict, I analyze the effects of ethnic representation on local response to the outbreak. In an empirical analysis based on count data and linear regression models, I find that the allocation of one additional position to an ethnic group in a 30-member cabinet is associated with an 18–23 percent decline in the subdistrict-level Ebola infection. While I find no effect on the risk of infection, I show that conditional on having any cases ethnic representation is associated with fewer Ebola incidents, suggesting a significant mitigation effect. This paper advances the debate about ethnic favoritism, but unlike existing studies focusing on individual leaders such as the president or a minister, it quantifies the effects of power-sharing on vulnerability to adverse shocks in a context of multi-ethnic ruling coalitions. Institutional reforms that limit the misallocation of public goods should be accompanied by concerted efforts to design need-based targeting.
The Hercules of Helena: Justice James C. Nelson and the Jurisprudence of Principle

The late legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin conceived an ideal American judge, “a lawyer of superhuman skill, learning, patience and acumen.” He also is a judge of principle, with a strong philosophical bent. For his labors Dworkin calls this judge of principle “Hercules.” Helena, Montana is not Olympus, and retired State Supreme Court Justice Jim Nelson is not Hercules. No human judge is. Yet over his nearly two decades on the Montana Supreme Court, Nelson exemplified Herculean judging in both its strengths and its weaknesses. This review considers the judicial career of Justice Nelson in both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. It begins with an empirical assessment of Nelson’s judicial record in Part I. After a brief biographical sketch, it considers metrics of ideology and influence on the Montana Supreme Court, and situates Justice Nelson among his colleagues. The review continues with an analytical assessment of Nelson’s judicial philosophy in Part II. Focusing on constitutional cases, it examines the development of two principles, personal autonomy and equal dignity, central to his reading of the Montana Constitution. Part III synthesizes the empirical and analytical assessments and identifies some limits to Justice Nelson’s jurisprudence of principle. The review concludes by proposing some tentative conclusions about Justice Nelson’s legacy.
Fighting to Keep Employment Discrimination Class Actions Alive: How Allison v. Citgo’s Predomination Requirement Threatens to Undermine Title VII Enforcement

The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which provides compensatory and punitive damages and attendant jury trials in cases alleging intentional discrimination, was designed to enhance enforcement and expand remedies. Its enactment, however, has triggered a schism among the circuit courts over what the proper standard is for determining whether monetary damages or injunctive relief predominates, a necessary inquiry for determining whether plaintiffs are entitled to class certification for Title VII claims under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Led by the Fifth Circuit, some federal appeals courts contend that monetary relief predominates unless it is “incidental,” and that compensatory and punitive damages are by “nature” not incidental. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Second Circuit’s standard - adopted by the Ninth - which permits the courts to use a flexible “ad hoc” approach when determining predomination. This article contends that should the Supreme Court accept the narrow incidental interpretation of the predomination requirement, employees fighting systemic intentional discrimination will be denied one of the most powerful weapons in their arsenal for justice - the class action.For decades, Title VII class actions have resulted in extensive reforms in employers’ policies and millions of dollars in equitable monetary relief for thousands of employees nationwide. However, this traditional means of enforcement has come under attack. Specifically, the restrictive incidental interpretation diminishes the number of class actions, deprives employees of full relief, and imposes greater costs and burdens on those employment discrimination class actions that do survive. Deterrence and fairness are also undermined.The ad hoc approach, on the other hand, respects the courts’ discretion and properly reconciles the goals of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and Rule 23. The ad hoc approach’s flexibility allows plaintiffs to seek full relief, while enjoying due process protections available through hybrid certification and discretionary notice and opt-out rights. Furthermore, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and recent amendments to Rule 23 curb potential judicial abuse, and confirm the propriety of allowing federal courts wide latitude in making class certification determinations. Consequently, when the Supreme Court has the occasion to consider the propriety of the Rule 23(b)(2) predomination test, it should embrace the ad hoc balancing test to preserve this essential civil rights enforcement tool - the class action. This article is part of a series examining the impact of procedure on civil rights.
Relationships between Top Management Team Characteristics and International Diversification: an Empirical Investigation*

Drawing on the executive demography and the upper-echelons perspectives, this paper examines the relationships between top management team (TMT) characteristics (educational level, tenure, age, international experience and functional background) and firm international diversification. The study is based on a sample of 112 relatively large, internationally diversified US-based firms in the manufacturing sector. Findings indicate that firms with higher levels of international diversification are likely to have TMTs characterized by higher educational level, shorter organizational tenures, younger executives and greater international experience. In addition, findings indicate that the relationships between TMT characteristics and international diversification are more dominant in better-performing than in lower-performing firms.
Unconventional Shale Gas Development, Risk Perceptions, and Averting Behavior: Evidence from Bottled Water Purchases

AbstractTechnological innovation has made extraction of natural gas from deep shale formations economically viable. While unconventional shale gas development is seen as an economic benefit, concerns have been raised about the environmental and health risks associated with the extraction process. We combine GIS data on unconventional shale gas development in Pennsylvania and Ohio with household data on bottled water purchases to assess the impact that perceived risks to drinking water from unconventional shale development have had on household well-being using a treatment effects design. In our preferred triple difference models with time-varying treatment effects, we find per household averting expenditure in 2010 ranges from $10.74 in our full sample specification to $15.64 when omitting urban counties more likely to contain public water supplies. Converting the sample-average averting expenditure of $10.74 to an annual expenditure for the entire affected population implies an averting expenditure in Pe...
Victims, Breeders, Joy and Math: First Thoughts on Compensatory Spousal Payments Under the Principles

Current divorce statutes typically authorize courts to divide marital property and award alimony under a broad discretionary standard that suggests relevant factors, but ultimately defers to an individual judge's sense of fair play. Not the least of the dangers inherent in such a system is the possibility that an egalitarian-minded, well-intentioned judge will unrealistically assume spouses are equally opportuned at divorce. Such a judge may equally divide minimal marital property, and award little or no alimony. Each spouse then, theoretically at least, will enjoy a clean break and a fresh start, though on a decidedly different economic footing. The shield that once protected the married homemaker from her market opportunity costs is thus abruptly removed, and she is left alone to bear those costs, even as her husband is left alone to enjoy any gains resulting from his fuller market participation. If the law incorrectly assumes such husbands and wives are equally positioned at divorce, it effectively penalizes the wife whose human capital has deteriorated during marriage and rewards the husband whose human capital has increased. Such a scenario goes far in explaining the persistently troubling statistics on the disparate financial impact of divorce on men and women, and its possibility haunts every homemaker who negotiates a divorce settlement.The ALI's answer to this scenario is a detailed set of presumptive alimony rules designed to ensure a more equitable allocation of loss. Even as we applaud the Principles' frank realism and bold effort to restructure the law of alimony, however, we critics must begin the process of questioning them. Especially deserving of first blush scrutiny is the Principles' choice of a victimizatlon model rather than one based on equal partnership, its breeder/non-breeder dichotomy, its remarriage penalty, and its quantification methodology. Such scrutiny hopefully will guide reform rather than deter it, and so ultimately facilitate the Principles' laudable goal of a more equitable sharing of the economicrisks of marriage.
The impact of public library use on reading, television, and academic outcomes

Abstract Do individuals engage in beneficial activities, like recreational reading, if the necessary materials are easily accessible and relatively inexpensive? I investigate this issue by estimating how much reading time increases as a result of public library use. To address the endogeneity of library use I use an IV approach where the instrument is a household’s distance to their closest public library. Using data from the Current Population Survey, American Time Use Survey, and National Household Education Survey, I find that library use increases the amount of time an individual spends reading by approximately 27 min on an average day. Moreover, it increases the amount of time parents spend reading to/with young children by 14 min. This increase in reading is more than offset by a 59 min decrease in time spent watching television, and there is no significant change in time spent on other activities. For children in school, library use positively impacts homework completion rates. A simple cost-benefit exercise highlights the potential application of these results for local governments who fund these libraries.
The Future of Shareholder Democracy

In 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considered, and ultimately rejected, a rule that would have required corporations to include shareholder-nominated candidates on the ballot. This Article seeks to ascertain the impact of this rejection. On the one hand, the SEC’s rejection appears to be a stunning blow to the shareholders’ rights campaign. This is because many shareholders’ rights advocates have long considered access to the corporate ballot as the “holy grail” of their campaign for increased shareholder power. Such advocates believe that access to the corporate ballot is critical to ensuring that shareholders can participate legitimately in the corporate electoral process and thereby influence corporate affairs. On the other hand, some corporate experts contend that the SEC’s rejection should not be viewed as a major setback. Such experts maintain that characterizing proxy access as the sine qua non of shareholder influence fails to appreciate the significance of recent developments, such as the success of majority voting and the adoption of the e-proxy rules. Because these developments provide shareholders with alternative methods for influencing corporate affairs, some have even argued that they may make the issue of proxy access moot. This Article reveals the fallacies of such an argument, and hence the importance of the continued pursuit of proxy access. Indeed, after carefully considering the impact of such developments, and critically examining the probable impact of proxy access on shareholders’ efforts to enhance their influence on corporate governance, this Article concludes that although other devices may prove useful, it is not likely that they will be as effective as proxy access in empowering shareholders. In this respect, future shareholder democracy campaigns must continue to focus on the historical battle for proxy access.
Unitary, Divisional, And Matrix Forms As Political Governance Systems

In this study I reassess a set of fundamental organization forms (unitary, divisional, and matrix) as agenda-setting and political governance systems. My method of analysis is based on how political scientists study agendas in committees. Specifically, I first recount that moving from a functional (unitary) to a product-line (divisional) structure increases the types of conflict referred from lower to higher levels of the hierarchy, but does not increase the amount of conflict referred. I then show that moving from a product-line to a matrix structure increases the amount and the types of conflict referred to higher levels of the hierarchy; that it is possible in matrix forms that no conflict is resolved at the lowest levels of the hierarchy; and, that accountability is reduced for those who are able to refer conflict. The study reveals implications for matrix forms that derive from this view of organizations as agenda-setting and political governance systems. This analysis fits with the recent history of matrix forms in a variety of organizations.
The Impartiality of International Judges: Evidence from the European Court of Human Rights

Can international judges be relied upon to resolve disputes impartially? If not, what are the sources of their biases? Answers to these questions are critically important for the functioning of an emerging international judiciary, yet we know remarkably little about international judicial behavior. An analysis of a new dataset of dissents in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) yields a mixed set of answers. On the bright side, there is no evidence that judges systematically employ cultural or geopolitical biases in their rulings. There is some evidence that career insecurities make judges more likely to favor their national government when it is a party to a dispute. Most strongly, the evidence suggests that international judges are policy seekers. Judges vary in their inclination to defer to member states in the implementation of human rights. Moreover, judges from former socialist countries are more likely to find violations against their own government and against other former socialist governments, suggesting that they are motivated by rectifying a particular set of injustices. I conclude that the overall picture is mostly positive for the possibility of impartial review of government behavior by judges on an international court. Like judges on domestic review courts, ECtHR judges are politically motivated actors in the sense that they have policy preferences on how to best apply abstract human rights in concrete cases, not in the sense that they are using their judicial power to settle geopolitical scores.