In defense of voting—reinterpreting the terms of the voting calculus with a view toward election law and policy

Democratic voting is desperately in need of defense. Contemporary institutions of mass electoral participation are undertheorized, and there is a critical disconnect between conceptions of voting in democratic theory and election laws and policies that implicate participatory values and interests. This dissertation fills some of these gaps between the theories and practices of modern democracy by examining the factors that motivate individual decisions to vote or abstain and the electoral institutions that structure and respond to such decisions. With a primary focus on elections in the United States, this work explores how normative conceptions of voting not only influence individual participation decisions, but also provide foundations for electoral rules and procedures that impact turnout levels, both in the aggregate and for distinct demographic groups. As an analytical framework, the rational choice calculus of voting is utilized to parse the varied motivations for turnout, with the four elements of the calculus providing the outline for the four main chapters of the dissertation. The voting calculus has often been interpreted in ways that minimize the value of voting and provide reasons that explain why individuals do not—and perhaps even should not—participate in elections. This dissertation critically examines those views, and it reinterprets the terms of the calculus in a manner that demonstrates how the act of voting can in fact be highly valued, which explains why individuals do—and indeed generally should—participate in democratic elections. The analysis proceeds by first redefining the expected probability of one vote having a casual effect on an election outcome (Chapter 1), then by reevaluating the normative significance of the instrumental benefits of voting (Chapter 2) and the various types of voting costs (Chapter 3), and finally by reconsidering the theoretical and practical implications of non-instrumental motivations for participation, especially the notion of a civic duty to vote (Chapter 4). Each chapter further derives policy, legal, and broader ethical implications associated with these new interpretations of the terms of the calculus and makes specific reform proposals designed to increase participation in American elections at federal, state, and local levelsPublic Polic

Discotic Mesophases of the Hexakis(alkylsulfono)benzene Series: Characterization by Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Optical Microscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Members of the Hexakis(alkylsulfono)benzene series 4, containing 7 to 15 carbon atoms per alkyl chain (4 c-k), exhibit one and possibly several liquid crystalline discotic mesophases. The mesophases are uniaxial and most probably have a columnar structure. Their anisotropic magnetic susceptibility is negative and in sufficiently strong magnetic fields they align with the director perpendicular to the field direction. Deuterium NMR spectra of C6D6 dissolved in the mesophases exhibit quadrupolar splittings which are strongly temperature dependent. In analogy with the conventional discotics this suggests the presence of multiple solvation sites for solute molecules

The Crystal and Mesophase Structure of Hexakis(alkylsulfono)- benzene Homologues by X-Ray Diffractometry

A powder X-ray diffractometer study of hexakis(tridecylsulfono)benzene (HASB13) has been carried out over the temperature range 20 to above 80 °C. In this range three phase transitions are observed by sharp discontinuities in the diffraction pattern indicating a solid-solid, solidmesophase, and mesophase-liquid transition. The mesomorphic phase is identified as a hexagonal columnar discotic mesophase, Dhd, with intercolumnar spacing of 25.7 Å and average stacking distance of 4.9 Å. Both distances are independent of temperature but there appears to be a gradual increase in the stacking disorder as the temperature is increased. The magnitude of the intercolumnar distance suggests a considerable degree of side chain disorder. A detailed X-ray diffraction study was also performed at room temperature on a single crystal of hexakis(propylsulfono) benzene (HASB3), which is not mesogenic. The results provide detailed information on the structure of HASB 3 which is used in the interpretation of HASB 13 results

Evidence for a coordination position available to solute molecules on one of the metals at the active center of reduced bovine superoxide dismutase

We have measured the contribution of the reduced form of bovine Zn/Cu superoxide dismutase to the relaxation of the 35Cl nucleus of chloride ion. The reduced protein has a molar relaxivity approximately 2.5 greater than the metal free protein, and addition of a small excess of cyanide lowers the relaxivity of the reduced protein to that of the apo-protein. We have interpreted these observations in terms of an open coordination position on one of the two metal ions, and we have proposed a mechanism for the reduction of superoxide by reduced superoxide dismutase which requires that binds to Cu+ prior to electron transfer.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21715/1/0000107.pd

Dual catalytic decarboxylative allylations of α-amino acids and their divergent mechanisms

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Lang, S. B., O'Nele, K. M., Douglas, J. T. and Tunge, J. A. (2015), Dual Catalytic Decarboxylative Allylations of α-Amino Acids and Their Divergent Mechanisms. Chem. Eur. J., 21: 18589–18593. doi:10.1002/chem.201503644, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201503644. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.The room temperature radical decarboxylative allylation of N-protected α-amino acids and esters has been accomplished via a combination of palladium and photoredox catalysis to provide homoallylic amines. Mechanistic investigations revealed that the stability of the α-amino radical, which is formed by decarboxylation, dictates the predominant reaction pathway between competing mechanisms