Domestic Relations - Gifts in Contemplation of Marriage

The Supreme Court of New York held that a donor could not recover an engagement ring upon donee\u27s renouncing her intention to marry him, where the contract to marry was void since the donor was already married. Lowe v. Quinn, 301 N.Y.S.2d 361 (Ist Dep\u27t 1969)

Persuasion in the Courtroom

Persuasion is defined as an act of influencing the minds of others by arguments or reasons, by appeals to both feeling and intellect; it is the art of leading another man\u27s will to a particular choice, or course of conduct. No one doubts this is what trial lawyers do every day in the courtroom-and that is what this article is about

The concept of pluralistic security community : an attempt to apply it to the European Union case

This dissertation aims at developing and testing the concept of pluralistic security community evolved by Karl Deutsch in the 1950s. In essence, a pluralistic security community is a union in which war is no longer contemplated as a possible way of resolving conflicts among its members. The conditions for the emergence of a pluralistic security community are threefold; (a) compatibility of major values; (b) mutual responsiveness and (c) mutual predictability of behaviour. Compatibility of major values has often been studied in relation to the democratic peace theory but, more than democracy as such, it is the conditions underlying its emergence (individualism and the spirit of trade) that foster peace. Mutual responsiveness is closely linked to the theory of cybernetics and requires the existence of many links between the units of the security community allowing the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Mutual predictability of behaviour implies the existence of long-term trust between the members of the community. A parallel is possible with the rational expectation theory in economics. As a conclusion to this part, it can be asserted that the concept studied is the main contribution to an embryonic theory of international pluralism. After the analysis of the concept, an attempt is made to apply it in the case of the European Union. To test the reality of compatibility of major values, a content analysis of the final communiques of the European Council over the past few years is made. Mutual responsiveness is tested thanks to a study of European regional policy and redistribution, since the existence of redistribution is a sign of cohesion and trust. Finally, mutual predictability of behaviour is tested through the study of European security integration (especially the Franco-German partnership, weapons coproduction and through the study of Europe as an 'actor' in the world stage). This concept of pluralistic security community is a valuable tool for explaining some features of the global setting like the peaceful long-term coexistence of states at the international level. The concept is also very relevant in the European Union as it explains one important achievement of European integration; long-term peace in Europe

Addressing Common Concerns about Online Student Ratings of Instruction: A Research-Informed Approach

Concerns over the usefulness and validity of student ratings of instruction (SRI) have continued to grow with online processes. This paper presents seven common and persistent concerns identified and tested during the development and implementation of a revised SRI policy at a Canadian research-intensive university. These concerns include bias due to insufficient sample size, student academic performance, polarized student responses, disciplinary differences, class size, punishment of rigorous instructor standards, and timing of final exams. We analyzed SRI responses from two mandatory Likert scale questions related to the course and instructor, both of which were consistent over time and across all academic units at our institution. The results show that overall participation in online SRIs is representative of the student body, with academically stronger students responding at a higher rate, and the SRIs, themselves, providing evidence that may moderate worries about the concerns.   Avec les processus électroniques, les inquiétudes quant à l’utilité et à la validité des évaluations de l’enseignement par les étudiants (EEE) ne cessent de croître. Le présent document révèle sept problèmes communs et constants concernant l’utilité et la validité des évaluations électroniques de l’enseignement par les étudiants (EEE) en ligne qui ont été identifiés et testés dans une université canadienne centrée sur la recherche. Parmi ces problèmes, on compte une déformation des résultats attribuable à un échantillon de taille insuffisante, une faible performance scolaire des étudiants, une polarisation des réponses des étudiants, des différences disciplinaires, des classes de taille inégale, une perception négative face aux attentes élevées de certains chargés de cours et l’horaire des examens finaux. Nous avons analysé les réponses à deux questions obligatoires, selon une échelle de Likert, et liées au cours et à son chargé de cours. Les deux questions ont conservé leur cohérence au fil du temps et au sein de l’ensemble des unités d’enseignement de notre institution. Les résultats démontrent que la participation à l’EEE en ligne est généralement représentative du corps étudiant, bien que le taux de participation des étudiants plus performants au niveau académique s’est révélé plus élevé. Cela nous fournit un argument important pour répondre aux inquiétudes souvent émises au sujet des problèmes liés à l’EEE