Who Cares How Congress Really Works?

Legislative intent is a fiction. Courts and scholars accept this, by and large. As this Article shows, however, both are confused as to why legislative intent is a fiction and as to what this fiction entails. This Article first argues that the standard explanation—that Congress is a “they,” not an “it”—rests on an unduly simple conception of shared agency. Drawing from contemporary scholarship in the philosophy of action, it contends that Congress has no collective intention, not because of difficulties in aggregating the intentions of individual members, but rather because Congress lacks the sort of delegatory structure that one finds in, for example, a corporation. Second, this Article argues that—contrary to a recent, influential wave of scholarship—the fictional nature of legislative intent leaves interpreters of legislation with little reason to care about the fine details of legislative process. It is a platitude that legislative text must be interpreted in “context.” Context, however, consists of information salient to author and audience alike. This basic insight from the philosophy of language necessitates what this Article calls the “conversation” model of interpretation. Legislation is written by legislators for those tasked with administering the law—for example, courts and agencies—and those on whom the law operates—for example, citizens. Almost any interpreter thus occupies the position of conversational participant, reading legislative text in a context consisting of information salient both to members of Congress and to citizens (as well as agencies, courts, etc.). The conversation model displaces what this Article calls the “eavesdropping” model of interpretation—the prevailing paradigm among both courts and scholars. When asking what sources of information an interpreter should consider, courts and scholars have reliably privileged the epistemic position of members of Congress. The result is that legislation is erroneously treated as having been written by legislators exclusively for other legislators. This tendency is plainest in recent scholarship urging greater attention to legislative process—the nuances of which are of high salience to legislators but plainly not to citizens

Effect of gravitational radiation reaction on circular orbits around a spinning black hole

The effect of gravitational radiation reaction on circular orbits around a spinning (Kerr) black hole is computed to leading order in $S$ (the magnitude of the spin angular momentum of the hole) and in the strength of gravity $M/r$ (where $M$ is the mass of the black hole, $r$ is the orbital radius, and $G=c=1$). The radiation reaction makes the orbit shrink but leaves it circular, and drives the orbital plane very slowly toward antialignment with the spin of the hole: $\tan (\iota /2) = \tan (\iota_0 /2) [1+(61/72)(S/M^2) (M/r)^{3/2}]$, where $\iota$ is the angle between the normal to the orbital plane and the spin direction, and $\iota_0$ is the initial value of $\iota$, when $r$ is very large.Comment: 12 page

The Effect of Slow Two‐Electron Transfers and Disproportionation on Cyclic Voltammograms

The EE mechanism (two‐electron transfer) for cyclic voltammetry was investigated in considerable detail along with the effect of disproportionation. The theory was developed for either the first or second electron transfer being slow while the other one was reversible. It was possible to develop generalized working curves for the height and shape of the wave regardless of the difference in Eo\u27s and the values of α and Ks. This theory was then applied to the analysis of the reduction of benzil in the presence of alkaline earth ions in dimethylformamide

Effect of gravitational radiation reaction on nonequatorial orbits around a Kerr black hole

The effect of gravitational radiation reaction on orbits around a spinning black hole is analyzed. Such orbits possess three constants of motion: iota, e, and a, which correspond, in the Newtonian limit of the orbit being an ellipse, to the inclination angle of the orbital plane to the hole's equatorial plane, the eccentricity, and the semimajor axis length, respectively. First, it Is argued that circular orbits (e = 0) remain circular under gravitational radiation reaction. Second, for elliptical orbits (removing the restriction of e = 0), the evolution of iota, e, and a is computed to leading order in S (the magnitude of the spin angular momentum of the hole) and in M/a, where M is the mass of the black hole. As a decreases, iota increases and e decreases

Diffusion Approximations for Demographic Inference: DaDi

Models of demographic history (population sizes, migration rates, and divergence times) inferred from genetic data complement archeology and serve as null models in genome scans for selection. Most current inference methods are computationally limited to considering simple models or non-recombining data. We introduce a method based on a diffusion approximation to the joint frequency spectrum of genetic variation between populations. Our implementation, DaDi, can model up to three interacting populations and scales well to genome-wide data. We have applied DaDi to human data from Africa, Europe, and East Asia, building the most complex statistically well-characterized model of human migration out of Africa to date

Far-infrared spectroelectrochemistry: a study of linear molybdenum/iron/sulfur clusters

The far-infrared spectroelectrochemistry of linear M/Fe/S (M=Mo, W) complexes was investigated in methylene chloride and dichloroethane. With CsI as spectral windows, bands above 200 cm−1 can be observed in methylene chloride, except for a weak methylene chloride band at 450 cm−1. Substitution of dichloroethane for methylene chloride, solvents of nearly identical electrochemical properties, allows one to observe solute bands in the 450-cm−1 region. The far-infrared spectroelectrochemistry of [MoFe2S4Cl4]2− and its tungsten analogue was investigated. The disappearance of the oxidation bands and the appearance of bands due to the reduced product could be clearly observed. The origin of the vibrational bands could be clearly identified using 34S-substituted complexes. In addition to the far-infrared bands, the resonance Raman spectroelectrochemistry of the oxidized and reduced complex, along with the 34S-substituted complexes was obtained. Far-infrared and resonance Raman spectroelectrochemistry can be combined to understand the electrochemical mechanism of transition metal complexes. The far-infrared spectroelectrochemistry of [MoFe2S4Cl4]2− and its tungsten analogue was investigated. The disappearance of the initial bands and the appearance of bands due to the reduced product could be clearly observed. Resonance Raman spectroscopy and the use of 34S-substituted complexes were used for characterization of the reactant and products

Spectroscopic Evidence of Nanodomains in THF/RTIL Mixtures: Spectroelectrochemical and Voltammetric Study of Nickel Porphyrins

The presence and effect of RTIL nanodomains in molecular solvent/RTIL mixture were investigated by studying the spectroelectrochemistry and voltammetry of nickel octaethylporphyrin (Ni(OEP)) and nickel octaethylporphinone (Ni(OEPone)). Two oxidation and 2–3 reduction redox couples were observed, and the UV–visible spectra of all stable products in THF and RTIL mixtures were obtained. The E° values for the reduction couples that were studied were linearly correlated with the Gutmann acceptor number, as well as the difference in the E° values between the first two waves (ΔE12° = |E1° – E2°|). The ΔE12° for the reduction was much more sensitive to the %RTIL in the mixture than the oxidation, indicating a strong interaction between the RTIL and the anion or dianion. The shifts in the E° values were significantly different between Ni(OEP) and Ni(OEPone). For Ni(OEP), the E1° values were less sensitive to the %RTIL than were observed for Ni(OEPone). Variations in the diffusion coefficients of Ni(OEP) and Ni(OEPone) as a function of %RTIL were also investigated, and the results were interpreted in terms of RTIL nanodomains. To observe the effect of solvation on the metalloporphyrin, Ni(OEPone) was chosen because it contains a carbonyl group that can be easily observed in infrared spectroelectrochemistry. It was found that the νCO band was very sensitive to the solvent environment, and two carbonyl bands were observed for Ni(OEPone)− in mixed THF/RTIL solutions. The higher energy band was attributed to the reduced product in THF, and the lower energy band attributed to the reduced product in the RTIL nanophase. The second band could be observed with as little as 5% of the RTIL. No partitioning of Ni(OEPone)+ into the RTIL nanodomain was observed. DFT calculations were carried out to characterize the product of the first reduction. These results provide strong direct evidence of the presence of nanodomains in molecular solvent/RTIL mixtures

Electrochemistry and Spectroelectrochemistry of 1,4-Dinitrobenzene in Acetonitrile and Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids: Ion-Pairing Effects in Mixed Solvents

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have been shown to have a significant effect on the redox potentials of compounds such as 1,4-dinitrobenzene (DNB), which can be reduced in two one-electron steps. The most noticeable effect is that the two one-electron waves in acetonitrile collapsed to a single two-electron wave in a RTIL such as butylmethyl imidazolium-BF4 (BMImBF4). In order to probe this effect over a wider range of mixed-molecular-solvent/RTIL solutions, the reduction process was studied using UV–vis spectroelectrochemistry. With the use of spectroelectrochemistry, it was possible to calculate readily the difference in E°’s between the first and second electron transfer (ΔE12° = E1° – E2°) even when the two one-electron waves collapsed into a single two-electron wave. The spectra of the radical anion and dianion in BMImPF6 were obtained using evolving factor analysis (EFA). Using these spectra, the concentrations of DNB, DNB–•, and DNB2– were calculated, and from these concentrations, the ΔE12° values were calculated. Significant differences were observed when the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (NTf2) anion replaced the PF6– anion, leading to an irreversible reduction of DNB in BMImNTf2. The results were consistent with the protonation of DNB2–, most likely by an ion pair between DNB2– and BMIm+, which has been proposed by Minami and Fry. The differences in reactivity between the PF6– and NTf2– ionic liquids were interpreted in terms of the tight versus loose ion pairing in RTILs. The results indicated that nanostructural domains of RTILs were present in a mixed-solvent system

Magnetization Reversal in Ferromagnetic Spirals via Domain Wall Motion

Domain wall dynamics have been investigated in a variety of ferromagnetic nanostructures for potential applications in logic, sensing, and recording. We present a combination of analytic and simulated results describing the reliable field driven motion of a domain wall through the arms of a ferromagnetic spiral nanowire. The spiral geometry is capable of taking advantage of the benefits of both straight and circular wires. Measurements of the in-plane components of the spirals\u27 magnetization can be used to determine the angular location of the domain wall, impacting the magnetoresistive applications dependent on the domain wall location. The spirals\u27 magnetization components are found to depend on the spiral parameters: the initial radius and spacing between spiral arms, along with the domain wall location. The magnetization is independent of the parameters of the rotating field used to move the domain wall, and therefore the model is valid for current induced domain wall motion as well. The speed of the domain wall is found to depend on the frequency of the rotating driving field, and the domain wall speeds can be reliably varied over several orders of magnitude. We further demonstrate a technique capable of injecting multiple domain walls and show the reliable and unidirectional motion of domain walls through the arms of the spiral