Motivation and Performance, Blog 8

Student blog posts from the Great VCU Bike Race Book

Whatever Happened To The Seveloff Fix?

This Article suggests that the Supreme Court has not deprived Alaska Native Villages of a valid basis for claiming the authority to create and enforce their own tribal alcohol regulations. Every federally recognized Alaskan Native Village is situated in an area over which Congress extended the federal Indian liquor laws in 1873, in an enactment Congress has never repealed; this should logically empower Alaska Native Villages to exercise the same federally-delegated authority within their federal Indian liquor law Indian country as lower-48 tribes have within their reservations or “dependent Indian communities.” Since this delegated authority is shared with the states, this postulate does not deprive the State of Alaska of any authority to enforce its own liquor laws; liquor transactions must conform to both state law and applicable tribal law

Fourier Techniques for Sound Visualization

Many mathematical techniques have been developed for signal analysis. The best-known -- technique is the Fourier transform, which receives a signal and outputs the frequency spec- -- trum. If we add a window function to the Fourier transform we can output a spectrogram, -- which is a plot of frequency versus time for the signal. The nal technique, the continuous -- wavelet transform, simultaneously translates and dilates a window function while applying -- Fourier transforms in order to produce a scalogram - a plot similar to a spectrogram that has the frequency axis plotted logarithmically. This produces a plot of perceived pitch rather -- than frequency. For my project, I investigate each of these techniques and produce MATLAB -- code that will generate each of them for given signals

Zivotofsky II and National Security Decisionmaking at the Lowest Ebb

This Note examines assertions of exclusive presidential power in light of the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Zivotofsky ex rel. Zivotofsky v. Kerry. This Note argues that, contrary to the suggestion of some commentators, the decision enhances the President’s ability to disregard legislative restrictions at flashpoints of national security decisionmaking. As Zivotofsky II saw, the President exclusively holds the power to recognize foreign countries. More significant, however, are the analytic moves that the Court introduces when assessing a President’s defiance of an act of Congress—a setup where the President’s power reaches its “lowest ebb.” The Zivotofsky II Court reshaped the lowest-ebb posture by relying heavily on historical practice and functionalist arguments to support its conclusion that the President enjoys exclusive authority over foreign recognition. Such arguments have never before been invoked by the Court to invalidate an act of Congress in the field of foreign affairs and systematically favor the executive in future separation-of-powers standoffs. Moreover, even if courts read Zivotofsky II narrowly, executive branch lawyers will not. And because justiciability doctrines often insulate executive action from judicial review, the primary (if not the only) legal assessment of hard national security choices will be made by lawyers in the executive branch. To illustrate the importance of Zivotofsky II’s impact on executive power, this Note presents three case studies in areas where the political branches have ambiguous or overlapping authority and where the structural advantages of the executive branch are uniquely important—covert actions, electronic surveillance, and the disposition of captured enemy combatants

High School and College Athletes Should Be Required to Undergo Pre-Participation Cardiac Screening Prior to Participation in Competitive Sports

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in young athletes. Most of these athletes are unaware they have a condition that puts them at risk. In addition it is estimated that approximately 1 in 220,000 young athletes experience Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) each year, although, these numbers are not truly reliable because there is no national mandatory reporting system in the United States. My paper argues that all high school and college athletes should be required to undergo pre-participation cardiac screening (i.e. an ECG and extensive family health history) as a part of a required physical exam to identify student-athletes at risk of SCD. Studies in Italy, where pre-participation screening is mandatory, and at some US universities in the US where collegiate athletes received cardiovascular screening prior to sports participation suggest that including ECG improved overall sensitivity, mass ECG screening is achievable and cost-effective, and that screening lowered the death rates in the population screened. Some critics believe that the cost of the screening is not cost-effective, but others believe the costs are reasonable; some hospitals in the US now provide student athletes with free ECG screening, or at reduced cost. ECG screening will save lives, and should not be discounted as being too costly. Every parent who has a child participating in school athletics should be informed of the risks, and be given the opportunity to have their child tested. Saving someone’s child is worth the cost of testing. My interest in this topic comes from my family’s personal experience with a student athlete who experienced a cardiac event characterized by shortness of breath and dizziness while playing in a collegiate baseball game. Our son, Neil, was a healthy 21-year-old student athlete who had participated in organized sports since he was seven years old. His event was initially diagnosed as a panic attack, but after he underwent a series of cardiac testing, including an ECG that showed an abnormality, he was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD), a progressive heart disease. We have no family history to link to Neil’s disease, and we had no idea he was at risk. Today Neil lives with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), takes anti-arrhythmic medication, and no longer participates in team sports. Neil is one of the lucky ones who survived, and his survival impelled me to get involved in my community to promote awareness about sudden cardiac arrest, and the importance of CPR training and the availability of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Our experience also inspired me to research adding pre-participation cardiac screening for young athletes. If such a program had been instituted at his high school or college, Neil’s disease would have been diagnosed and treated, keeping him from being at risk during athletics

Precursors of School Shootings

This paper analyzes mass school shootings in the United States, stressing their root causes, indicators, demographics, and suggestive guidelines for preventable measures. Data draws associations between bullying, social dominance, and devalued masculinity amongst high school boys. Further, these trends emphasize homophobic harassment and the reassertion of lost dominance through violence. Moreover, research upholds media coverage and self-absorbed behavior as an additional precursor for inspired acts of malice. Journalistic representations of mass school shootings are identified as a source of motivation for vengeful and easily malleable youth. Studies also stress the importance of school inclusivity and interconnectedness, emitting a stark correlation to the level of violence in schools across America. In turn, applicable solutions are best represented by Effective Behavioral Support and violence prevention methods practiced by teachers and campus staff. In addition, school security upheld positive results as well, whether executed by armed guards or fencing