Student-Loan Discharge - An Empirical Study of the Undue Hardship Provision of § 523(a)(8) Under Appellate Review

Prior to the enactment of the Bankruptcy Code, student-loan debtors could receive an automatic discharge of their debts in bankruptcy. Now, they cannot. Since the Code\u27s enactment, Congress has pursued progressively harsher standards, continually narrowing the scope of when a student-loan debtor could obtain discharge. Following the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in 2005, student-loan debtors now encounter the toughest obstacles to discharge they have ever faced. By extending the protection of the discharge exception of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8) to private lenders, Congress effectively placed all students who take out loans to pay for their education at the mercy of a harsh system whose narrow exceptions for discharge force debtors to prove that they face a certainty of hopelessness in their future

Resource‐based learning strategies: Implications for students and institutions

This paper reports some findings from a project in implementing resource‐based learning in economics, and identifies some implications for students and institutions. These include student responses to a mid‐semester evaluation and the views of the project team. The latter have been informed by action research which sought to recognize students’ individual differences, employ active learning methods and, above all, integrate IT into the curriculum. While innovative strategies are clearly welcomed, students show strong attachment to some traditional methods. Most of those who suggested changes to the range of activities asked for reinstatement of at least some lectures, generally as additions to existing activities. Implications include the need for students and staff to acquire a wide range of new skills, for large‐scale curriculum review if new learning technologies are to be fully integrated, and the need to acknowledge that, given student and staff perceptions of change, the process may be long and costly

Spin transfer due to quantum fluctuations of magnetization

Spin transfer - the transfer of angular momentum from spin-polarized electrical current to magnetic materials - has been extensively researched as an efficient mechanism for the electronic manipulation of the static and dynamic states in nanomagnetic systems, advancing our understanding of nanomagnetism and electronic transport, and enabling the development of energy-efficient magnetic nanodevices. Our present understanding of spin transfer is based on the classical approximation for the magnetization, even though the spin-polarized electrons mediating spin transfer are treated quantum-mechanically. Here, we utilize a nanoscale magnetic spin-valve structure to demonstrate that quantum zero-point fluctuations of magnetization, neglected in the existing theories of spin transfer, provide the dominant contribution to this effect at cryogenic temperatures, and remain non-negligible even at room temperature. The demonstrated quantum spin transfer (QST) is distinguished by a non-smooth piecewise-linear dependence of the fluctuation intensity on current, and can be driven not only by the directional flows of electrons, but also by their thermal motion. This effect can enhance current-induced phenomena, overcoming the efficiency limitations that are presently perceived as fundamental to the spin transfer mechanism.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

The Politics of American College Football

Even as revenues and valuations for American college football programs rise rapidly, football faces increased scrutiny about safety concerns which potentially threaten its continued popularity. Recent media suggests a political divide in how football safety issues affect fan identification, with survey evidence asserting football enthusiasm is negatively correlated with Democratic Party affiliation. To more rigorously examine this assertion, we empirically examine how education, income, ethnicity, political affiliation, and school enrollment are associated with college football program values. Results indicate that Democratic affiliation is negatively associated with program values, while college education rates and income are positively associated with program values