Extending Gaussian hypergeometric series to the pp-adic setting

We define a function which extends Gaussian hypergeometric series to the $p$-adic setting. This new function allows results involving Gaussian hypergeometric series to be extended to a wider class of primes. We demonstrate this by providing various congruences between the function and truncated classical hypergeometric series. These congruences provide a framework for proving the supercongruence conjectures of Rodriguez-Villegas.Comment: Int. J. Number Theory, accepted for publicatio

Developing a Consumer Right to Invoke the Boycott Exception to the Insurance Company Exemption from Federal Antitrust Laws

The McCarran-Ferguson Act provides that the business of insurance shall be subject to the laws of the several states which relate to the regulation or taxation of such business. The Act further provides that the business of insurance shall be exempt from federal antitrust laws if state regulation exists. However, an exception to this exemption exists in section 3(b) of the McCarran Act. Section 3(b) provides that nothing within the McCarran Act shall render the Sherman Act inapplicable to any agreement to boycott, coerce, or intimidate, or any act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation. Despite the seemingly clear statutory language of section 3(b), the trend of judicial construction of this statute until recently had been to narrow substantially this exception to the federal antitrust exemption. Note examines the legislative history of section 3(b) of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, the authorities which provided the traditional narrow interpretation of the boycott exception, and the effects of the Barry and Proctor decisions on insurance companies and consumers

Mugar Greene Scholars "Have a good break" posters

The Mugar Greene Scholars created this poster to celebrate the end of the semester and winter break at BU

Up in the Air: Lawson v. FMR LLC & the Scope of Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection

This commentary previews an upcoming Supreme Court case, Lawson v. FMR LCC, in which the Court will consider whether Sarbanes-Oxley extends whistleblower protection to employees of the private contractors and subcontractors of public companies

The Market Reaction to Trump\u27s Trade War

This event study looks at the market reaction to the global trade tensions that began in the first half of 2018. The events regarding new developments around the use of tariffs are organized in chronological order, and the stocks of certain impacted companies are looked at to see if they were positively or negatively affected by the news. To summarize the market reaction to tariffs, I use a zero cost portfolio consisting of long positions in those expected to be positively impacted and short positions in those expected to be negatively impacted. If this portfolio sees a larger return on the day of a given event, it is considered that the market reacted more severely to the news. For a further breakdown, the events are grouped together by the countries involved with the event and by the type of event. I look at tariffs imposed by the United States, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and China. The event types include announcements of plans for new tariffs, announcements of exemptions from tariffs, and the formal implementation of tariffs. I find that the most significant market reaction took place in the early months of the trade war, which is evident in that there appears to be the widest spread in returns between those positively and those negatively impacted during this time. As the trade war dragged on in 2018, tariffs were imposed on a broader range of products, and the market reaction became less severe. This information could be useful to traders and asset managers going forward as it appears much of the impact of these tariffs is already reflected in stock prices

The Sacraments: Historical Foundations and Liturgical Theology

Book review by Angela McCarthy. Kevin W. IRWIN. The Sacraments: Historical Foundations and Liturgical Theology. New York: Paulist Press, 2016. 388 p

Ship carvers in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain

Vessel ornamentation has been practised for thousands of years and over a vast geographical area. Unsurprisingly, the type of carvings and their purpose vary considerably from place to place and their style, form and subject matter have changed significantly over time. This article focuses on the ship carvings of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, and more specifically it investigates those who produced them. Classified as neither sculptors nor shipbuilders, ship carvers in Britain, both in the past and in more recent times, have been denied the appreciation that their unique and specialized art deserves. This article addresses the apparent difficulty that exists in classifying ship carvers and the carvings they produced. By examining how the carvers were trained and how work was commissioned and executed, the article investigates how these carvers were perceived by their contemporaries and how they fit into the broader historical context of the period

The Psalms of Mercy. Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization

Book Review: - The Psalms of Mercy . Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. Huntington Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Inc., 2015