Supreme Court Opinion Authorship Attribution on a Case-by-Case Basis

This thesis analyzes the authorship of Supreme Court opinions and the theory that Justices on that Court might be delegating portions, if not the majority, of opinion authorship to their clerks. I test the theories that as Justices age they are more likely to delegate, and that delegation has increased across all justices over the past several decades of the Court’s history. I employ a content analysis method known as stylometry to assign authorship attributions on a case by case basis and use those attributions to inform larger trends regarding authorship. I ultimately find that there is little evidence to support the age or time-period theories but that there is significant variation across Justices in attribution, indicating that clerks are likely playing a large and measurable role in opinion drafting

Securities Regulation of Ontario Venture Issuers: Rules or Principles?

Should the securities regulation of Ontario venture issuers be based primarily on rules or principles? Advocates for rules argue that detailed rules, with predictable meaning and scope, allow participants to focus on matters other than compliance. Advocates for principles argue that when an activity is complex, such as securities trading, detailed rules can become a confusing web, obscuring core values and discouraging creative solutions. The rules and principles literature is reviewed, along with the topics of risk-based, responsive, outcomes oriented and proportionate regulation. Governance theory is addressed and various compliance theories are discussed. From this, eight factors are gleaned to assess where along the rules/principles continuum a particular area of regulation should lie: (i) Is there a shared understanding of regulatory principles within the community being regulated? (ii) Are the regulated committed to the public interest? (iii) Are the regulated able to find analogous solutions? (iv) Are there institutions or actors which promote regulatory collaboration? (v) Do the regulated see enforcement as fair and effective? (vi) Are regulatory issues predictable? (vii) Should historical transactions be disclosed? and (viii) Should future projections be disclosed? These factors are then explored with a survey of 175 managers of venture issuers, followed by in-depth consultations with six experts in the industry and by a consideration of other matters. The assessment of the eight factors suggests that in some respects, principles could be effective for Ontario venture issuers since they are more flexible and can adapt to the changing complexities of securities regulation. However, principles-based regulation requires a shared understanding of, and commitment to, regulatory principles, and the answers given by many of the respondents to the survey and the discussions with the six experts consulted suggest that more work needs to be done before principles-based regulation could be effective

Securities Regulation of Ontario Venture Issuers: Rules or Principles?

Should the securities regulation of Ontario venture issuers be based primarily on rules or principles? Advocates for rules argue that detailed rules, with predictable meaning and scope, allow participants to focus on matters other than compliance. Advocates for principles argue that when an activity is complex, such as securities trading, detailed rules can become a confusing web, obscuring core values and discouraging creative solutions. The rules and principles literature is reviewed, along with the topics of risk-based, responsive, outcomes oriented and proportionate regulation. Governance theory is addressed and various compliance theories are discussed. From this, eight factors are gleaned to assess where along the rules/principles continuum a particular area of regulation should lie: (i) Is there a shared understanding of regulatory principles within the community being regulated? (ii) Are the regulated committed to the public interest? (iii) Are the regulated able to find analogous solutions? (iv) Are there institutions or actors which promote regulatory collaboration? (v) Do the regulated see enforcement as fair and effective? (vi) Are regulatory issues predictable? (vii) Should historical transactions be disclosed? and (viii) Should future projections be disclosed? These factors are then explored with a survey of 175 managers of venture issuers, followed by in-depth consultations with six experts in the industry and by a consideration of other matters. The assessment of the eight factors suggests that in some respects, principles could be effective for Ontario venture issuers since they are more flexible and can adapt to the changing complexities of securities regulation. However, principles-based regulation requires a shared understanding of, and commitment to, regulatory principles, and the answers given by many of the respondents to the survey and the discussions with the six experts consulted suggest that more work needs to be done before principles-based regulation could be effective

Securities Regulation of Ontario Venture Issuers: Rules or Principles?

Should the securities regulation of Ontario venture issuers be based primarily on rules or principles? Advocates for rules argue that detailed rules, with predictable meaning and scope, allow participants to focus on matters other than compliance. Advocates for principles argue that when an activity is complex, such as securities trading, detailed rules can become a confusing web, obscuring core values and discouraging creative solutions. The rules and principles literature is reviewed, along with the topics of risk-based, responsive, outcomes oriented and proportionate regulation. Governance theory is addressed and various compliance theories are discussed. From this, eight factors are gleaned to assess where along the rules/principles continuum a particular area of regulation should lie: (i) Is there a shared understanding of regulatory principles within the community being regulated? (ii) Are the regulated committed to the public interest? (iii) Are the regulated able to find analogous solutions? (iv) Are there institutions or actors which promote regulatory collaboration? (v) Do the regulated see enforcement as fair and effective? (vi) Are regulatory issues predictable? (vii) Should historical transactions be disclosed? and (viii) Should future projections be disclosed? These factors are then explored with a survey of 175 managers of venture issuers, followed by in-depth consultations with six experts in the industry and by a consideration of other matters. The assessment of the eight factors suggests that in some respects, principles could be effective for Ontario venture issuers since they are more flexible and can adapt to the changing complexities of securities regulation. However, principles-based regulation requires a shared understanding of, and commitment to, regulatory principles, and the answers given by many of the respondents to the survey and the discussions with the six experts consulted suggest that more work needs to be done before principles-based regulation could be effective

Black Business Owners Overcoming Barriers in Texas

Black entrepreneurs in the state of Texas reported that they did not achieve the same level of success as nonminority enterprises. Many Black entrepreneurs have obtained education from top tier institutions and have the managerial experiences, skills, and working knowledge that facilitate business success, but they are not able to sustain business growth. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black Texan entrepreneurs. This research was established using the conceptual framework of human capital. The overarching research question concerned the lived experiences of Black Texas entrepreneurs who were not as successful in business as their counterparts. Data were collected in the form of semistructured face-to-face interviews with 14 Black participants, using the African American Chamber of Commerce to facilitate networking among Black entrepreneurs. NVivo 11 software was used for data codification and thematic reduction. Emergent themes included (a) feeling good about being in business, (b) resourcefulness in business, (c) network advertising systems, (d) education, (e) having alternative plans if business closes, (f) feeling independent, and (g) activeness in business. The implications for positive social change include the potential for advising researchers on barriers confronted by Black entrepreneurs and potential steps to overcome those barriers. Additionally, scholars have recognized the need for greater understanding of how businesses are structured and managed by Black business-owners because this knowledge is vital to creating business prosperity for Black entrepreneurs who have dreams of becoming business owners

‘Must I remember?’ artificial memory systems and early modern England

My thesis traces the evolution of artificial memory systems from classical Greece to early modern England to explore memorial traumas and the complex nature of a very particular way of remembering. An artificial memory system is a methodology to improve natural memory. Classical artificial memory systems employ an architectural metaphor, emphasising regularity and striking imagery. Classical memory systems also frequently describe the memory as a blank page. This thesis follows the path of transmission of these ideas and the perennial relationship between memory and forgetting and memory and fiction, as well as the constant threat of memorial collapse

The ageing society: analyzing the coverage of the population ageing in a Belgian quality newspaper

This study has examined how the ‘Ageing Society’ -a society with a rapidly ageing population, a growing share of older persons and a decreasing share of younger persons- and its implications for the Belgian population are represented in the Belgian quality newspaper De Standaard (2011-2013). As such, the study delivered first-time Belgian empirical findings about the coverage of the Ageing Society. For most people, media are a central information source and an important factor in their opinion building. It is therefore highly important to increase the knowledge regarding the Ageing Society-media coverage they are provided with, and will possibly act upon. The study has applied a mixed methods approach. First, a qualitative content analysis inductively identified the labels and frames in the Ageing Society-coverage. Subsequently the frequencies of these labels and frames have been assessed. This two-step approach allowed identifying new labels and frames while considering their individual importance in the coverage as well. The Ageing Society mostly appeared in the newspaper De Standaard as a threat for the public budget, labour market and health- and social systems. The newspaper dominantly applied political- and economic frames to cover the Ageing Society, and hence established the Ageing Society mainly as a political-economic concern. Frequently applied as well in the coverage of the Ageing Society was the health frame. To a much lesser extent, the Ageing Society was also framed in terms of education and awareness. Several Ageing Society-related topics appeared seldom in the coverage; e.g. the (non- financial) contributions of older persons to society, the connectedness between the various generations, the implications of the Ageing Society for the individual and the human-made element in population ageing. Also, the dominant normative perspective of the Ageing Society as threat for the welfare state excluded other, more positive perspectives. Such perspectives could nevertheless complement the existing coverage by exploring the opportunities of the Ageing Society, and reporting about alternative policies to address its implications. The policies to address the Ageing Society were critically reflected upon in the newspaper’s comments and opinion articles. Most of these opinionating articles nevertheless did not attribute responsibility to specific persons or instances deemed accountable for addressing the Ageing Society. Sources for the Ageing Society-coverage in De Standaard were mainly professional experts, such as politicians or researchers. Other potential non-professional expert sources, such as representatives from the civil society, communities or individual (possibly ageing) persons were less represented. The research findings and theoretical insights have been translated into journalistic recommendations for a more varied and balanced media coverage of the Ageing Society

The tax tectonics: Well-being and wealth inequality in relation to a shift in the tax mix from direct to indirect taxes

Indirect taxes are on the rise – both in terms of geographical spread and fiscal importance – at the expense of the proportion of direct taxes. This shift from direct to indirect taxes (tax shift) is primarily driven by a desire to boost economic growth (GDP) and job creation. At the same time, scholars and supranational bodies are increasingly arguing that economic policy should not solely be directed at economic growth, but at more-encompassing, multidimensional well-being. This study confronts both bodies of thought. It examines how the tax shift can be consonant with the general goal of promoting well-being that is paramount in many countries. It does so by assessing the tax shift’s impact on the distribution of wealth and identifying various well-being-related tendencies that this changing distribution could potentially entail

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD: THEORIES OF \u3cem\u3eNOBLESSE OBLIGE\u3c/em\u3e IN CAROLINGIAN FRANCIA

This thesis argues that conceptions of commerce in the Carolingian era were intertwined with the discourse of ethics, and that concepts of the Carolingian ‘economy’ may be profitably illuminated by consideration of pre-modern ethical and social categories. I explore a pre-modern pattern of personhood that framed persons in terms of political rôles, and exchange in terms of the interactions of those rôles. In moral letters addressed to counts and kings, ethical counsel about greed for each lay rôle was grounded in particular geographic spaces and historical moments, creating a rich valence of specific meanings for greed and charity. I examine letters in which Paulinus of Aquileia, Alcuin of York, Jonas of Orléans, and Dhuoda of Uzés treated the greed of counts, and those in which Smaragdus of St. Mihiel, Sedulius Scottus, and Hincmar of Rheims treated that of kings. In each letter’s definition of greed are found interactions with specific elements exchanged, and correlative meanings of greed far from limited to the ‘love of silver’, but also not wholly vague and spiritualized. Greed and largesse constituted the language in which Carolingian writers discussed economic exploitation, tyranny, plunder, investment, credit, and noblesse oblige