Is Antitrust Too Complicated for Generalist Judges? The Impact of Economic Complexity and Judicial Training on Appeals

Modern antitrust litigation sometimes involves complex expert economic and econometric analysis. While this boom in the demand for economic analysis and expert testimony has clearly improved the welfare of economists—and schools offering basic economic training to judges—little is known about the empirical effects of economic complexity or judges' economic training on decision-making in antitrust litigation. We use a unique data set on antitrust litigation in district courts during 1996—2006 to examine whether economic complexity impacts decisions in antitrust cases, and thereby provide a novel test of the frequently asserted hypothesis that antitrust analysis has become too complex for generalist judges. We also examine the impact of one institutional response to economic complexity - basic economic training by judges. We find that decisions involving the evaluation of complex economic evidence are significantly more likely to be appealed, and decisions of judges trained in basic economics are significantly less likely to be appealed than are decisions by their untrained counterparts. Our results are robust to a variety of controls, including the type of case, circuit, and the political party of the judge. Our tentative conclusion, based on a revealed preference argument that views a party’s appeal decision as an indication that the district court got the economics wrong, is that there is support for the hypothesis that some antitrust cases are too complicated for generalist judges.antitrust, Daubert, complexity, economic training, expert witness

Out of the Blue: Giving and receiving care: Aboriginal experiences of care-giving in the context of mental illness

This thesis is an exploration of the experiences of care-giving for Indigenous people living with a serious mental illness. The research included the experiences of those being cared for and those providing care. Due to past negative research experienced by Indigenous people, the study was conducted as a critical ethnography using multiple culturally appropriate methodologies and under the direction of a Study Reference Group. Participants were recruited through a person known to them, a culturally safe method of introduction. Thirteen in-depth case studies were conducted over 18 months, and participants' stories were constructed through multiple interviews, feedback and workshop sessions. Findings included the identification of a serious disconnection between mental health providers and Indigenous Australian families living with serious mental health issues. This disconnection was due to mental health providers lacking understanding of Indigenous needs and of the complexity and concepts of Indigenous care-giving. One outcome from this study was the proposal of an Indigenous care-giving model. The key elements of an Indigenous model of care-giving are the importance of relationships and reciprocity in holding and sustaining culture, and the significance of cultural responsibility. When mental health providers lack understanding of these attributes it has serious implications for their interactions with Indigenous people. This thesis offers recommendations for future research and for improved standards for mental health care provision

Behavioral risk profiles of homeschooled adolescents in the United States: a nationally representative examination of substance use related outcomes

BACKGROUND: The homeschool population continues to grow in size and now accounts for 3.4% of all students in the United States. OBJECTIVE: Given the heterogeneous nature of the population, this study examines the relationship between different types of homeschoolers and a number of substance use related outcomes. METHODS: To conduct this study, we used pooled data (2002–2013) from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Respondents aged 12–17 who reported they had been homeschooled at any time during the previous 12 months were classified as homeschoolers (N = 1,321). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify latent subgroups of homeschoolers and multinomial regression was executed to assess the relationship between the subgroups and perceived substance use risk, availability, and past 12-month use. RESULTS: The LPA yielded four subgroups, which were summarized as (1) highly religious and engaged, (2) limited parental monitoring, (3) high parental warmth and support, and (4) secular permissive. Of these, the highly religious and engaged subgroup was the least likely to report using substances. CONCLUSION: The results underscore the variation that exists among homeschoolers and the importance of examining the relationship between different types of homeschoolers and outcomes of interest

Flight Systems Integration & Test: Lessons Learned for Future Success

This paper offers a comprehensive view of flight system integration and test (I&T) lessons learned related to mishaps and close calls, focusing on what can be done to improve the I&T process to avoid recurrence. Specific areas within the realm of I&T that are covered in this paper include: I&T team communication and training; design of flight and ground systems for I&T; planning and scheduling; configuration management and process documentation; ground support equipment and tools; cleanrooms and contamination; mechanical integration, handling, and deployments; electrical integration and electrostatic discharge; functional testing and troubleshooting; environmental testing and facilities; and launch site operations. To illustrate "real-world" lessons learned for I&T, examples from throughout the history of the U.S. space program are presented. Also presented are some best practices for I&T that can help mitigate mishaps and close calls on the ground or during flight

New Sensor Technology Integration for safe and efficient e-Navigation

This paper discusses the relation of new sensor technology on bridge resource management as pertaining to the integration of new information sources and types for ship navigation in a future e-Navigation environment. An overview of several new technologies will be provided showing how systems and devices currently available in the commercial marketplace are being adapted and used to aid ship navigation planning and decision making. Examples include live Doppler radar useful for coastal navigation available from land-based sources through broadband Internet connections, imagery from unmanned aerial vehicles to aid in ice-navigation in, and forward-looking sonar for navigating in poorly charted, uncharted and other world regions where aids to navigation are not readily available. The use of such innovative methods are not yet covered in IMO Guidelines, as e.g., for Voyage Planning, the Procedures Manual of a ship’s Safety Management System or any other document to illustrate the adoption of such technology, but needs to be considered and investigated. However, the implications of introducing such new information sources in terms of bridge watchstander (Officer of the Watch - OOW) workload and training are discussed with respect to existing guidelines and regulations. Further illustration is provided in the context of how such new information sources may be integrated with existing resources to enhance overall navigation situational awareness. This includes the information itself as well as the means and methods used to interact with the OOW in terms of bridge displays, monitors and alarms. Selected specific details of research efforts currently underway will be provided in terms of forward-looking sonar integration into the bridge environment and navigation processes. This will include results obtained from experimental studies in the laboratory as well as on a suitably equipped research vessel test bed. A description of achievements accomplished to date will be provided in terms of tasks performed; the processes and procedures employed to acquire, manage and evaluate these tasks; preliminary results and outcomes achieved; and metrics used to measure these outcomes in terms of determining whether the research goals are achievable. Comparisons between expectations and actual results will be discussed, along with an analysis of risks encountered. Lessons learned are documented regarding errors in input, process, product and/or metrics

Calculating Center-Glass Performance Indices of Windows with a Diathermanous Layer

©2006, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (www.ashrae.org). Published in ASHRAE Transactions, Volume 112, Part 2. For personal use only. Additional reproduction, distribution, or transmission in either print or digital form is not permitted without ASHRAE’s prior written permission.The fenestration chapter of the 2005 ASHRAE Hand-book—Fundamentals (ASHRAE 2005) has long included methods for determining the U-factor and solar heat gain coef-ficient (SHGC), or window performance indices, using the radiative and convective heat transfer coefficients around a glazing layer. The present work examines the errors inherent in applying these standard calculation methods to window systems that include a single diathermanous layer (such as a shading layer), and new equations for calculating the perfor-mance indices are derived. Furthermore, the radiative heat transfer coefficients used in these calculations can be difficult to determine in the presence of a diathermanous layer. There-fore, a new and stable method of calculating radiative heat transfer coefficients is also presented. The effects of using the existing procedures are demonstrated using industry-standard software.ASHRAE is acknowledged for their support of this work through RP-1311

Public or private religiosity: which Is protective for adolescent substance use and by what pathways?

While it is well understood that adolescent religiosity is associated with the use and abuse of licit and illicit substances, few studies have revealed the pathways through which religiosity buffers youth against involvement in such behavior. The aim of this study is to examine the complexity of the relationships between religiosity, sensation seeking, injunctive norms, and adolescent substance use. Using a national sample of adolescents (N = 18,614), negative binomial regression and path analysis were used to examine the various components of the relationship between religiosity and the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Results indicate that private religiosity moderates the relationship between key risk factors and substance use. Public and private religiosity were associated with tolerant injunctive substance use norms which, in turn, were associated with substance use. Implications for research and theory related to religiosity and adolescent substance use are discussed

WISE Brown Dwarf Binaries: The Discovery of a T5+T5 and a T8.5+T9 System

The multiplicity properties of brown dwarfs are critical empirical constraints for formation theories, while multiples themselves provide unique opportunities to test evolutionary and atmospheric models and examine empirical trends. Studies using high-resolution imaging cannot only uncover faint companions, but they can also be used to determine dynamical masses through long-term monitoring of binary systems. We have begun a search for the coolest brown dwarfs using preliminary processing of data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and have confirmed many of the candidates as late-type T dwarfs. In order to search for companions to these objects, we are conducting observations using the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system on Keck II. Here we present the first results of that search, including a T5 binary with nearly equal mass components and a faint companion to a T8.5 dwarf with an estimated spectral type of T9