Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In this article, the authors apply rational choice theory to explore the relationship between stare decisis and holding versus dicta, critique existing definitions of these terms, and offer and defend their own.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: It is reasonable to expect that courts will demonstrate great solicitude for the recent innovation that I term “collective action waivers” – i.e., contractual provisions contained within arbitration agreements whereby consumers and others waive their rights to participate in any form of collective litigation or class arbitration. The history of mass tort class actions and the hegemonic expansion of pro-arbitration jurisprudence compel this conclusion. And, as the now-dominant economic model of contract law has moved the focus of courts from the value of consent to the value of efficiency, arbitration agreements found in all manner of shrink-wrap, scroll-text and bill-stuffer notices are increasingly upheld. As a consequence, we are rapidly approaching a world in which companies may opt out of exposure to class actions in such areas as consumer cases, civil rights, antitrust and ERISA; even the classic Rule 10b-5 securities fraud class may be an endangered species.
Legal scholarship to date has tended to focus on optimizing the rules that govern all the various aspects of class action litigation. Fundamentally and understandably accepting class actions as a permanent fixture on the legal landscape, scholars draw on their various perspectival theories to offer reforms to current practice. But the potency of collective action waivers under current doctrine, and inevitable forthcoming efforts to extend their reach into new areas of law and business, should force scholars to confront a more binary question: are class actions, warts and all, a good thing or a bad thing?

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: There is no national disaster insurance program to provide for cost recovery for structural losses resulting from events like hurricanes and flooding. It is essential that Congress and State Legislatures enact a national disaster insurance policy.

Publication Type: Session Paper
Abstract: Due to the multiplication and proliferation of screens, both new and old, communication scholars need to approach differently the reception processes of these screens by audience members. In addition to their quantitative growth, there are significant qualitative developments changing the way audiences interact in their daily life with so many audiovisual contents.
This paper looks at some of these changes from a new perspective able to understand and study the multiple interaction processes of interaction between audience members and the ubiquitous screens. First, I discuss the new screens to call attention to the new developments. Secondly, I talk about the old screens to determine what has prevail and the desirable and undesirable traits still present in the old media. Finally but most importantly, I look at what is to come, not as a prediction, but as an exercise in the analysis of the possible scenarios for new models of audience research and the new screens.