Humpty Dumpty on Mens Rea Standards: A Proposed Methodology for Interpretation

When I use a word.., it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less. , This statement by Humpty Dumpty sets forth the argument of this Note: words used to describe mens rea in federal criminal statutes have plain, ordinary meanings. When the United States Supreme Court interprets these statutes, it should do so according to the words\u27 plain meanings. Because the Court has not used this approach in past cases, the law of mens rea on the federal level is confusing and inconsistent. The Court has tried to repair poorly drafted statutes by interpreting them in various ways to achieve what it thought was the correct result. By applying different interpretation techniques, however, the Court has developed an ad hoc mens rea jurisprudence that confuses people about what mental state is necessary for conviction under federal criminal laws. People thus cannot order their affairs to avoid violating the law. To clarify the law, the United States Congress and the Supreme Court should engage in a law-making dialogue that results in Congress drafting clearer statutes and the Court interpreting those statutes according to the words\u27 plain meanings. The Supreme Court\u27s mens rea analysis in federal criminal cases is least settled in cases involving the knowingly standard. The Court apparently interprets other mens rea standards, such as willfully, purposely, and recklessly, consistently. The Court has more difficulty interpreting knowingly, because it falls in the middle of the mens rea standard hierarchy. Willfully, the most stringent standard, implies either a full understanding of both the law and the facts or an understanding of egregious facts that indicate the defendant knew she was doing something wrong. Recklessly, one of the lowest standards, implies very little thought. Knowingly, however, indicates a standard somewhere above recklessness and below fully-informed thwarting of the law. Determining exactly what it means to act knowingly appears to be difficult for the Court. Although the Court has consistently defined knowingly to require that the defendant actually knew he committed. the acts that made his conduct criminal, the Court applies this definition only if doing so will allow the Court to reach its desired result .For instance, when the Court hears a case involving a statute that criminalizes morally suspect behavior, it defines knowingly to require only that the defendant knew he acted, regardless of whether the defendant knew those actions were illegal. In cases that involve statutes that may be read as criminalizing otherwise innocent conduct, the Court defines knowingly to mean that the defendant knew the facts about his or her actions and that those actions were illegal

Advocating for platform data access : challenges and opportunities for academics seeking policy change

Independent researchers’ access to digital platform data is critical for our understanding of the online world; yet recent reflections have shown that data are not always readily available (Asbjørn Møller & Bechmann, 2019; Bruns, 2018; Tromble, 2021). In the face of platform power to determine data accessibility, academics can often feel powerless, but opportunities and openings can emerge for scholars to shape practice. In this article, we examine the potential for academics to engage with non-academic audiences in debates around increased data access. Adopting an autoethnographic approach, we draw on our personal experiences working with policymakers and digital platforms to offer advice for academics seeking to shape debates and advocate for change. Presenting vignettes that detail our experiences and drawing on existing scholarship on how to engage with non-academic audiences, we outline the opportunities and challenges in this kind of engagement with a view to guiding other scholars interested in engaging in this space

Transparantie rond digitale politieke advertenties laat te wensen over

The Institutions of Politics; Design, Workings, and implications ( do not use, ended 1-1-2020

Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing

Many critics raise concerns about the prevalence of ‘echo chambers’ on social media and their potential role in increasing political polarization. However, the lack of available data and the challenges of conducting large-scale field experiments have made it difficult to assess the scope of the problem 1,2. Here we present data from 2020 for the entire population of active adult Facebook users in the USA showing that content from ‘like-minded’ sources constitutes the majority of what people see on the platform, although political information and news represent only a small fraction of these exposures. To evaluate a potential response to concerns about the effects of echo chambers, we conducted a multi-wave field experiment on Facebook among 23,377 users for whom we reduced exposure to content from like-minded sources during the 2020 US presidential election by about one-third. We found that the intervention increased their exposure to content from cross-cutting sources and decreased exposure to uncivil language, but had no measurable effects on eight preregistered attitudinal measures such as affective polarization, ideological extremity, candidate evaluations and belief in false claims. These precisely estimated results suggest that although exposure to content from like-minded sources on social media is common, reducing its prevalence during the 2020 US presidential election did not correspondingly reduce polarization in beliefs or attitudes

Water Properties of Caliche

Water absorption and retention by hard caliche nodules (rocks) collected from soils in southern New Mexico were determined. The rate of water uptake by the caliche rocks was rapid and water content at saturation was 13.0% by weight (24.7% by volume). At a matrix potential of -0.7 MPa, the rocks retained 10.6% water by weight, an 18% loss from saturation. Water loss from saturated rocks to a dry atmosphere was slow, but most of the absorbed water was released. The rocks contained only 0.6% water by weight (1.1% by volume) after 34 days in a desiccator. Both laboratory and field trials indicated that, although indurated caliche layers will absorb large amounts of water, the water does not pass through the layers to the soil below.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Soil Movement in Mesquite Dunelands and Former Grasslands of Southern New Mexico from 1933 to 1980

Soil levels were marked on grid and transect stakes in mesquite duneland and grassland areas at 3 sites on the Jornada Experimental Range in 1933 and 1935. Soil levels on one set of transect stakes were remeasured in 1950 and 1955. Remeasurement of soil levels at both transect and grid stakes in 1980 revealed that extensive soil movement had occurred during the intervening years. On a 259-ha site containing large mesquite dunes in 1935, maximum deposition and deflation was 86.9 and 64.6 cm, respectively, in 1980. There was a net gain of 1.9 cm in soil depth over the entire area. On a 259-ha site only partially occupied by mesquite dunes in 1933, there was a net loss of 4.6 cm in soil depth and mesquite dunes had completely occupied the site by 1980. On a transect established across a mesquite duneland-grassland ecotone in 1935, there was a net loss in soil depth of 3.4 cm. Mesquite dunes had completely occupied the former grassland and dune intercept increased from 34.9 m in 1935 to 149.6 m in 1980. Gross erosion rates on wind deflated areas were equivalent to 69 tonnes ha-1 yr-1 on the area of large mesquite dunes. On the area partially occupied by mesquite in 1935 the gross erosion rate was 52 tonnes ha-1 yr-1. At the ecotone transect gross erosion rates were 45, 101, and 40 tonnes ha-1 yr-1 for 1935-50, 1950-55, and 1955-80 periods, respectively.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Vegetation Changes from 1935 to 1980 in Mesquite Dunelands and Former Grasslands of Southern New Mexico

On the Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico, 2 belt transects, 30.5 cm in width and totaling 2,188 m in length, were established in 1935 on 2 areas where honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) was spreading into black grama [Bouteloua eriopoda (Torr.) Torr.] grassland. Maps were made of the transects which portrayed the vegetation occurring in each of the 7,180 contiguous, $0.09\text{-}{\rm m}^{2}$ plots along the transect. The vegetation on the transects in 1980 was compared to that portrayed by the transect maps made in 1935. One transect had been read in 1950 and 1955. During the 45-year period mesquite attained complete dominance and many new mesquite dunes formed. Black grama had a relatively high frequency in 1935 but had completely disappeared by 1980, both on an area grazed by livestock and on an area protected from grazing. Mesa dropseed [Sporobolus flexuosus (Thurb.) Rydb.], fluffgrass [Erioneuron pulchellum (H.B.K.) Tateoka] and broom snakeweed [Xanthocephalum sarothrae (Pursh) Shinners] increased in abundance, even during the drought period between 1950 and 1955. Only 25% of the perennial forb species encountered in 1935-55 were found in 1980.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Alumni gratitude and academics: Implications for engagement

Gratitude may help Universities to sustain relationships with alumni and stimulate valuable input into current students’ learning experiences. This small-scale, qualitative study draws from the voices of alumni associated with a UK University. The study explores gratitude’s role within alumni’s reflections on Higher Education. We find that alumni’s feelings of gratitude appear to resonate most clearly towards academic teaching staff. Despite these feelings of gratitude, there are few verbal expressions of gratitude from alumni towards academics. Indeed, alumni have a variety of concerns about saying thank-you to academics including feeling awkward and may even see saying thank-you as a sign of weakness. However, hidden expressions of gratitude are evident. Alumni engage in behaviour which benefits the institution and are prepared to do more if asked, especially by key academic staff. We therefore suggest that it is useful to think of expressions of gratitude as known and unknown. The inequity between feelings of gratitude and known expressions of gratitude may mean that universities and academics remain less alert to the evidence and potency of gratitude within Higher Education than reality would merit. Indeed, we argue that gratitude is a central idea with the ability to inform HEIs’ alumni engagement strategies. This research presents an opportunity to understand the importance of alumni gratitude towards academics and how this can facilitate known expressions of gratitude from a growing alumni base, for the benefit of current students