Antonio Caballero: Conflicting U.S. Anti-Terrorism Law and U.S. International Bankruptcy Law

Antonio Caballero sought retribution for his father’s kidnap and murder in the way Congress has made it possible: the American Court System. Caballero obtained a default monetary judgment against Colombian guerrilla forces, but as expected in collecting against a terrorist organization, it was an uphill battle. When finding attachable assets, Caballero must act fast, but in the present case, an international bankruptcy proceeding sought to thwart his legitimate efforts to satisfy his judgment. The question is: should Caballero win in “race to the courthouse” fashion, or does the international bankruptcy stay lead to an orderly distribution of assets? This note breaks down the merits of each argument, and ultimately offers likely solutions

An Analysis of Stomach Contents of the Ouachita Madtom in Three Streams of the Upper Saline River Drainage, Arkansas

A study was conducted to identify typical foods eaten by the Ouachita madtom (Noturus lachneri), an endemic ictalurid of central Arkansas, and to compare these foods to the invertebrate community. Fish and invertebrate samples were collected in August and October, 1990, from a pool and adjacent riffle habitat in each of 3 streams in the upper Saline River drainage. Kick-net and electrofishing samples were collected at each site and the invertebrate organisms were identified to the lowest possible taxa. Stomachs from the N. lachneri specimens were removed and the contents were identified to order. Frequency of occurrence of each taxon was compared between stomach contents and kick-net samples. Similarities between kick-net samples and stomach contents indicate that N. lachneri specimens were not highly selective in food preference in the riffle and pool habitats of these Ouachita Mountain streams

Defining and assessing research quality in a transdisciplinary context

Research increasingly seeks both to generate knowledge and to contribute to real-world solutions, with strong emphasis on context and social engagement. As boundaries between disciplines are crossed, and as research engages more with stakeholders in complex systems, traditional academic definitions and criteria of research quality are no longer sufficient-there is a need for a parallel evolution of principles and criteria to define and evaluate research quality in a transdisciplinary research (TDR) context. We conducted a systematic review to help answer the question: What are appropriate principles and criteria for defining and assessing TDR quality? Articles were selected and reviewed seeking: arguments for or against expanding definitions of research quality, purposes for research quality evaluation, proposed principles of research quality, proposed criteria for research quality assessment, proposed indicators and measures of research quality, and proposed processes for evaluating TDR. We used the information from the review and our own experience in two research organizations that employ TDR approaches to develop a prototype TDR quality assessment framework, organized as an evaluation rubric. We provide an overview of the relevant literature and summarize the main aspects of TDR quality identified there. Four main principles emerge: relevance, including social significance and applicability; credibility, including criteria of integration and reflexivity, added to traditional criteria of scientific rigor; legitimacy, including criteria of inclusion and fair representation of stakeholder interests, and; effectiveness, with criteria that assess actual or potential contributions to problem solving and social change

Antonio Caballero: Conflicting U.S. Anti-Terrorism Law and U.S. International Bankruptcy Law

Antonio Caballero sought retribution for his father’s kidnap and murder in the way Congress has made it possible: the American Court System. Caballero obtained a default monetary judgment against Colombian guerrilla forces, but as expected in collecting against a terrorist organization, it was an uphill battle. When finding attachable assets, Caballero must act fast, but in the present case, an international bankruptcy proceeding sought to thwart his legitimate efforts to satisfy his judgment. The question is: should Caballero win in “race to the courthouse” fashion, or does the international bankruptcy stay lead to an orderly distribution of assets? This note breaks down the merits of each argument, and ultimately offers likely solutions