American Indians in Court: The Burger and Rehnquist Years

The Supreme Court and individual justices\u27 treatment of American Indian interests has generated relatively little scholarly attention. To fill this void in the extant literature, this study seeks to examine how American Indian interests fared before the Supreme Court of the United States during the Burger and Rehnquist Courts (1969-1992 October terms) and attempts to discern the factors influencing their treatment. The findings indicate that while American Indian interests won 48% of their cases, the Burger Court was much more sympathetic than the Rehnquist Court to the plight of this politically disadvantaged group. The error correcting strategy, the ideological proclivities of the justices, and the issue area being litigated were all influential explanatory variables. Interestingly, the Solicitor General\u27s Office had an adverse influence when it opposed American Indian interests as a direct or third party, but had little impact when supporting their interests

Creating Successful Student Learning Outcomes: The Case of Trinity University\u27s Quality Enhancement Plan Entitled Starting Strong

Using Starting Strong as a case study, this article examines how four successful Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) emerged and one was eliminated during the Quality Enhancement Plan’s (QEP’s) development process. In comparison to the one that was purged, the four successful SLO’s had five commonalities: 1. Virtually unanimous support from the administration; 2. Wide acceptance of the SLO from the faculty and staff members working on the QEP; 3. A shared conception between the administration and faculty/staff of what is an appropriate SLO; 4. The SLO’s could be clearly conceptualized and measured; And, 5., the SLO’s are financially feasible for the university to implement. The study hopes that this article may provide guidance for other universities undertaking and developing SLO’s and QEP’s

Legislator Judges: The Warren Court and Justices\u27 Use of State or International Policies in Criminal Procedure Cases

The Warren Court went to great lengths to expand criminal defendants\u27 rights, and in doing so it frequently relied on state majoritarian institutions\u27 policies or international norms to accomplish its goals. The Court and justices were almost twice as likely to use state laws than international policies in their reasoning. The Court was also almost two-and-a-half times more likely to use state or international policies in its rationale when deciding in favor of the criminal defendant in relation to the state\u27s interest

American Indian Interests and Supreme Court Agenda Setting: 1969-1992 October Terms

A recent development in the judicial behavior literature on Supreme Court agenda setting is the examination of case selection within particular areas of the law. To that end, this study examines the Supreme Court\u27s agenda-building process regarding American Indian Interests as a petitioning litigant during the 1969-1992 October terms. Using a multivariate logistic regression model, the findings indicate that judicial attitudes as manifested by the attitudinal model, the direct and third party briefs filed by the Solicitor General\u27s office for and against American Indian interests, and the presence of a sovereignty issue were influential explanatory variables in the Supreme Court\u27s case selection process. Contrary to the expectations of this study, however, the petitioning party alleging lower court conflict, dissension, and the number of amici curiae briefs filed in support of, and in opposition to, American Indian interests were not important predictors

American Indians and the Burger Court

Objective. Like many politically disadvantaged groups, American Indian interests have turned to the courts when they lack access or clout in the electoral process. Unlike many ocher disadvantaged groups, the litigation activities of American Indian interests have failed to garner much scholarly attention. The purpose of this research is to examine how American Indian interests fared before the Burger Court (1969-85 October terms). Methods. The 63 full opinion cases regarding issues critical to American Indian interests were identified by examining the United States Reports. Each case was coded as whether or not the Court decided in favor of the party advancing American Indian interests. Results. American Indian interests won over one-half of the cases decided by the Burger Court during the 1969-85 terms. Additionally, the appellant status of the party advancing American Indian interests and the issue area being litigated were important determinants in the direction of the Burger Court\u27s decisions. Conclusions. While American Indian interests won more cases than they lost during the 1969-85 terms, the Burger Court\u27s decisions did not result in a coherent body of law

The Clerk Connection: Appearances Before the Supreme Court by Former Law Clerks

Judicial scholars long have examined the external factors influencing U.S. Supreme Court decision making. Congressional and executive pressures, the Office of the U.S. Solicitor General, attorney experience, and the tactics of organized interests all have been found to be influential

Matter-Wave Decoherence due to a Gas Environment in an Atom Interferometer

Decoherence due to scattering from background gas particles is observed for the first time in a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer, and compared with decoherence due to scattering photons. A single theory is shown to describe decoherence due to scattering either atoms or photons. Predictions from this theory are tested by experiments with different species of background gas, and also by experiments with different collimation restrictions on an atom beam interferometer.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted to PR

Perspective Chapter: The Case of Trinity University – An Examination of Vulnerable Students’ Academic Performance in Gateway Courses and Possible Solutions

The study examines the factors that contribute to deficient grade rates and potential solutions to mitigate the issue at Trinity University. Using 9070 students’ grades in STEM-related gateway courses between the fall 2015 and spring 2020 academic semesters, the findings indicate that first-generation, underrepresented, and PELL eligible students struggle the most. Taking multiple gateway classes in the same semester increases student deficient grade rates as opposed to taking one. The creation of a Quantitative Reasoning Skills Center holds promise in helping students academically succeed and decreasing deficient grade rates in gateway courses, including those who are most vulnerable

Global complexity: some remarks to the "Author meets critic session" at the DGS congress in 2004

Der Beitrag dokumentiert die Diskussion auf der "Author Meets Critic"-Veranstaltung zu John Urrys "Sociology Beyond Societies" auf dem 32. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie (2004). Zunächst erläutert Urry den Grundgedanken seines Ansatzes, der auf eine Aufhebung der Trennung zwischen Naturwissenschaften und Gesellschaftswissenschaften hinausläuft. Unter dem Leitbild "Komplexität" wird die Analyse physischer und sozialer Welten integriert. Dabei werden auch Elemente von Hardt/Negris "Empire und Multitude"-Konzept aufgegriffen. Der Begriff der Globalen Komplexität steht auch im Mittelpunkt der Kommentare von Junge und Schwengel zu Urrys Buch. (ICE