Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 1 No. 1 (2011)
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/23361
Fall 2011: Inaugural issue2024-03-28T18:28:40ZU.S. Railroad Antitrust Immunity: Clarification, Discussion and Evaluation
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/23369
U.S. Railroad Antitrust Immunity: Clarification, Discussion and Evaluation
Goodling, William J.
The U.S. Congress regulated the railroad industry in 1887, and over the course of the 20th century also granted the industry significant antitrust immunities. Antitrust immunities are laws that expressly exempt an industry from prosecution under antitrust laws, such as the Sherman Act. Presumably, the rationale for railroad antitrust immunities was that because railroads were stringently regulated, the regulators alone would uphold antitrust principles and make antitrust litigation unnecessary. However, culminating in the passage of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, the railroad industry was largely deregulated, yet retained many antitrust immunities. This has raised concerns among shippers and consumers that railroad companies, which often face neither regulation nor antitrust liability, can freely commit anticompetitive abuses. Given these concerns and currently proposed legislation to abolish railroad antitrust immunities, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficacy of legal outcomes in a counterfactual situation where antitrust immunities are abolished. To reach this end, I will first clarify railroad regulation and deregulation, antitrust laws as they apply to all other industries, and the poorly understood railroad antitrust immunities.
18 pages
2011-10-18T00:00:00ZAcquisition of Second Language Vocabularly for Kindergartners with Speech Sound Disorders
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/23368
Acquisition of Second Language Vocabularly for Kindergartners with Speech Sound Disorders
Zapf, Tracy
Researchers and educators alike have raised concerns over the potential exclusion of children with speech and language disorders in immersion programs. The purpose of this pilot study is to determine whether children with speech sound disorders acquire Spanish vocabulary at a rate comparable to typical peers when learning in an immersion program, and if rates of acquisition differ for expressive versus receptive vocabulary. Five kindergartners attending a partial, early elementary immersion school were studied: one control participant and four participants with speech sound disorders. This investigation used expressive (spoken) and receptive (understood) vocabulary probes to test the number of Spanish vocabulary words children could produce and comprehend within an eight-week period. Results show that children with speech sound disorders acquire expressive Spanish vocabulary at a rate comparable to their typical peers but had lower levels of acquisition overall, while rates of receptive vocabulary acquisition varied across participants. The results of this pilot study, which are not yet comprehensive, suggest that children with speech sound disorders are able to acquire Spanish vocabulary and, as a result, should continue to be included in immersion programs in the future.
18 pages
2011-10-18T00:00:00ZForward Modeling to Assess and Improve Gravity Network Geometry at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/23367
Forward Modeling to Assess and Improve Gravity Network Geometry at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i
MacQueen, Patricia
Scientists have been using campaign gravity surveys to monitor volcanic activity at Kilauea's summit for decades, yet we have a poor understanding of the ability of the existing network to resolve sources of magma accumulation with different mass changes and depths. We also do not yet have a fully quantified measure of the relative importance of the stations in the network. This research tests the network using a simple forward modeling approach over a range of likely source volumes and depths. The analysis determines network sensitivity to three different likely source locations, calculates the relative importance of stations in the network, and examines the problem of signal distortion imposed by network geometry. This work finds that the current network is least sensitive to south caldera sources, and investigates the location and number of stations that will resolve this problem most effectively.
21 pages
2011-10-18T00:00:00ZSignaling for Attention: Mobility and Student Performance in United Way's Promise Neighborhoods
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/23366
Signaling for Attention: Mobility and Student Performance in United Way's Promise Neighborhoods
Cronkrite, Neil; O'Gorman, Ian
From a middle school student’s perspective, the worst part about transferring schools is the need to make new friends. But is that the only negative impact of mobility on students? In this paper, we use a fixed effects linear least-squares statistical regression model to explore the relationship between student academic performance and student mobility in the Bethel School District in Eugene, Oregon. Our client, United Way of Lane County, has struggled with student mobility as the organization refines its new Promise Neighborhoods project, aimed at distressed neighborhoods in Lane County. Student mobility may limit United Way’s ability to improve the educational and developmental outcomes of students. We use voter registration data to estimate total mobility in Lane County and in the Promise Neighborhoods. We also use Bethel School District student transfer codes and statewide state test scores as data. Due to the structure of our data, we cannot draw a definitive conclusion regarding the direction of causality between mobility and learning. However, we can say with confidence that, at a minimum, there is a significant relationship between disruption to learning and high levels of mobility – a good starting point for United Way as they continue to explore mobility and refine their Promise Neighborhoods project.
14 pages
2011-10-18T00:00:00Z