Measuring Up: Teachers\u27 Perceptions of a New Evaluation System

Teacher appraisal and evaluation systems have increased the level of teacher accountability, resulting in increased pressure to be successful in the classroom (Benedict, Thomas, Kimerling, & Leko, 2013; Derrington, 2011; Glazerman et al., 2011; Papay, 2012). As a result, several states have begun to stray from the traditional methods of evaluating teachers, thus creating their own appraisal systems in an effort to increase teacher quality and teacher accountability of student performance and success (Anderson, 2012). This approach to transform traditional teacher evaluation methods has attracted both teachers and administrators alike (Derrington, 2011)

The Business Purpose Doctrine in Corporate Divisions

The corporate division, however, lends itself to schemes for avoidance of tax. These schemes are attempts to convert ordinary income into income taxable at capital gains rates. An elaborate statutory mechanism has been created to prevent this conversion. In addition, the courts have created judicial doctrines which sometimes work by adding to the statutory framework and sometimes overlap. The resulting confusion of statute and judicial doctrine is the subject of this article. The investigation will focus on that part of the statute known as the device clause and its interaction with the judicial doctrines which together are known as the business purpose doctrine. First will be considered the origins of the problem found in case law and in the legislative response before 1954. Then the statute in its present form and the cases decided since the enactment of Section 355 will be examined in detail. Finally, a new judicial trend will be considered and a modification proposed

A Call for Judicial Scrutiny: How Increased Judicial Discretion Has Led To Disparity and Unpredictability in Federal Sentencings for Child Pornography

The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) has made child pornography related crimes among the most harshly punishable federal offenses. Nevertheless, sentencing judges have regained the right to depart from the recommended Federal Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines). The Guideline range for child pornography reflects sound and clear congressional intent to impose harsh penalties on defendants to deter, and ultimately eliminate, the market for child pornography. For this reason, this Comment argues that sentences that fall outside the Guidelines range should be reviewed with much greater scrutiny and should not be used solely to reflect a judge’s view that the advised sentence is too harsh for the crime it serves to punish. Specifically, below-Guideline sentences are being imposed with greater frequency because judges fail to consider all appropriate factors—namely, the nature of the offense, the purpose of punishment, and the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants convicted of similar crimes. Part II of this Comment examines the history of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, starting with their creation and then the jurisprudence that led to the Guidelines being advisory only. It also tracks the simultaneous legislative and Department of Justice (DOJ) measures that were implemented to impose harsher penalties for child pornography. Part III discusses the current state of sentencing for child pornography by looking at trends over the past decade in a number of prosecutions, the class of defendant that is being prosecuted, and the types of sentences being imposed. It also looks at recent cases in different circuits and examines how judges have been exercising their broad discretion in imposing sentences. Part IV considers arguments that the Guideline levels for child pornography offenses are too high, and posits that these arguments are unpersuasive because child pornography offenses should not be viewed merely as propensity crimes, but as the deliberate and repeated victimization of a child. Additionally, it considers the class of defendants charged with child pornography offenses and argues that such offenses pose a particular challenge to judges because they are demographically atypical. Part V proposes how judges should consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors in regard to these crimes so that greater predictability in sentencing is once again achieved

The Outer Space, Antarctic and Pell Treaties--Similar Solutions to a Common Problem

During the past two decades, there has been an increasing interest in those rules of international law governing the exploration and exploitation of ocean space. This is due primarily to the recent upsurge of technological developments among the highly industrialized nations. Rivalry between the U.S.S.R. and the United States has spurred these two countries, in particular, to a high level of competition in the field of ocean mining technology. The less highly developed countries are also interested in exploiting the ocean space in order to bolster their own economies. The traditional principle governing the law of the oceans has been freedom of the seas. The concept of freedom of the sea has always been subject, however, to a nation\u27s sovereign control over portions of the ocean adjacent to its shores. In recent years, however, there has been a change in this principle, and many nations, including the United States, have extended claims of sovereign control to other parts of the ocean. In the eighteenth century, the international rule as to territorial waters was that they extended only as far as the range of the coastal state\u27s cannon which would enable that nation to assert control over intruders. At that time, the effective distance of a cannon-shot was about three nautical miles. Today, however, there seems to be no agreement among nations as to what the rule delimiting territorial waters is

A Call for Judicial Scrutiny: How Increased Judicial Discretion Has Led To Disparity and Unpredictability in Federal Sentencings for Child Pornography

The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) has made child pornography related crimes among the most harshly punishable federal offenses. Nevertheless, sentencing judges have regained the right to depart from the recommended Federal Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines). The Guideline range for child pornography reflects sound and clear congressional intent to impose harsh penalties on defendants to deter, and ultimately eliminate, the market for child pornography. For this reason, this Comment argues that sentences that fall outside the Guidelines range should be reviewed with much greater scrutiny and should not be used solely to reflect a judge’s view that the advised sentence is too harsh for the crime it serves to punish. Specifically, below-Guideline sentences are being imposed with greater frequency because judges fail to consider all appropriate factors—namely, the nature of the offense, the purpose of punishment, and the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants convicted of similar crimes. Part II of this Comment examines the history of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, starting with their creation and then the jurisprudence that led to the Guidelines being advisory only. It also tracks the simultaneous legislative and Department of Justice (DOJ) measures that were implemented to impose harsher penalties for child pornography. Part III discusses the current state of sentencing for child pornography by looking at trends over the past decade in a number of prosecutions, the class of defendant that is being prosecuted, and the types of sentences being imposed. It also looks at recent cases in different circuits and examines how judges have been exercising their broad discretion in imposing sentences. Part IV considers arguments that the Guideline levels for child pornography offenses are too high, and posits that these arguments are unpersuasive because child pornography offenses should not be viewed merely as propensity crimes, but as the deliberate and repeated victimization of a child. Additionally, it considers the class of defendants charged with child pornography offenses and argues that such offenses pose a particular challenge to judges because they are demographically atypical. Part V proposes how judges should consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors in regard to these crimes so that greater predictability in sentencing is once again achieved

Perceptions of Educators on Motivational Strategies Influencing Middle School Students in Mathematics Courses

This qualitative study examined educators\u27 perceptions of motivational strategies influencing and motivating middle school students to comprehend and perform in mathematics courses. This study used interview data from 15 participants with 2 to 30 years of teaching experience. Educators may utilize this information in multiple settings within the classroom to influence and motivate students in mathematics courses. Data collection strategies included one-on-one semi-structured middle school educator interviews. Analysis of data occurred in three phases: (a) categorization of data under the five organizational factors, (b) building the explanation in narrative form, and (c) re-examination of the data. The analysis of the phenomenological study data was based on the theoretical framework of the achievement goal theories - the differences in how people judge their perceptions of competence (Nicholls, 1984) and TARGET structures (Task, Authority, Rewards, Grouping, Evaluation, and Time) (Epstein, 1989). The credibility of the analysis was protected by triangulation of data through multiple sources of evidence, establishment of a chain of evidence, and member checking. The results revealed that current and innovative motivational strategies influenced students in middle school mathematics. The results revealed how educators motivate middle school students through traditional and non-traditional strategies. Five themes emerged from the interview data analysis that contribute to the motivation of middle school students: (1) internal motivation, (2) external motivation, (3) building thinking classrooms, (4) student choice, and (5) building relationships

The Covenant Not to Sue: Virginia\u27s Effort to Bury the Common Law Rule Regarding the Release of Joint Tortfeasors

The 1979 Virginia General Assembly turned the last shovel of earth onto the grave of the common law release rule \u27 by adopting the covenant not to sue as a viable settlement device in joint tortfeasor actions. By this statutory adoption, Virginia became the last state to recognize, either by statute or judicial mandate, that a properly drawn covenant not to sue can act to release one or more tortfeasors without automatically releasing all those tortfeasors liable for the same injury or wrongful death. Judicial interpretations of the covenant not to sue, particularly those of California, Michigan and North Carolina, will be examined here in order to present salient factors for the Virginia practitioner to consider when drafting a covenant not to sue

Economic effects of an industrial plant locating in a rural county

Since the end of World War II, there has been a measurable tendency for new manufacturing plants to be built in rural areas in the South. The predominantly rural and agricultural counties of Virginia have a considerably higher proportion of the new plants than they had of the total number of manufacturing plants in 1950.1 In Virginia, this trend has been aided by the Division of Industrial Development and Planning, and industrial departments of railroads and electric utilities, which have used their influence to encourage the building of new manufacturing plants in low-income rural areas when economically feasible. In the 1950 to 1962 period, a total of 445 new plants with 51,925 employees located in Virginia. 2 They vary greatly in size - from 5 employees to 3,300 - with the majority in the smaller size group. Although large in number, the smaller plants have had much less impact on employment than the few large plants. The 15 plants with more than 500 employees represent only three per cent of the new plants but account for one-third of the new plant employment. The reverse is true for plants with less than 25 employees. They represent one-third of the new plants but account for only three per cent of the new employment. Rural areas isolated from medium sized cities and towns secured only a small percentage of the new plant employment - they lack the manpower, utilities, and ancillary services needed by a large plant. Also, some firms hesitate to locate in an area where they will be the principal employer. The objective of this paper is to determine the economic effects of an industrial plant locating in a predominantly rural county