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Unstoppable GameStop: The Legislature’s Gap in Regulating Open Market Manipulations
Full text linkWhen imagining a modern David and Goliath story, one would not normally think of a group of Wall Street hedge funds versus individuals on a forum on Reddit.com. In January of 2021 though, many headlines made this comparison, as online traders frantically purchased GameStop stock (“GME”) and drove the prices sky-high, while large hedge funds faced up to 1.3 billion to a multi-billion dollar corporation valued at $21 billion.
This paper argues that there is a deficiency in the legislation in terms of what constitutes “open market manipulation.” Open market manipulation refers to the act of manipulating the market for intentional price-movement and profit through facially legal means. Contrary to traditional manipulation that is regulated by Section 10b, open market manipulators largely falls through the cracks of SEC enforcement, as it is difficult to prove that the manipulator did “bad acts”, such as nondisclosure or fraud. This is kind of manipulation that the GameStop saga brought to light, with both small-scale and institutional investors partaking in the scheme. Although the GameStop instance is perhaps the first of its kind, without legislative consequences, it is likely that investors will repeat this process of artificial inflation and cause significant economic and social harm
Analyzing Army Transition Programs for Exiting Soldiers Searching for Employment
Full text linkAs soldiers begin the transition to life after the Army, the Soldier For Life Transition Assistance Program (SFL-TAP) provides courses in order to facilitate the military transition in terms of occupational assistance, educational development, and information of benefits. Although SFL-TAP assists many soldiers in their efforts to receive gainful employment after their terms of service, the program could benefit from adapting the assistance rubric to individual Military Occupation Specialties (MOS’s), enhancing coordination with the Career Skills Program (CSP), and providing psychological adjustment to soldiers and soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Given these adjustments, soldiers exiting the Army would benefit from this research, for they would be better prepared for the civilian work environment and be able to secure more profitable careers.
To supplement this topic, an analysis of available literature on the topics of post-service veteran employment, the CSP program, and the effects of PTSD on soldiers attaining work will be conducted. Also, this paper will use a Likert Scale survey and conduct a focus group discussion to analyze the efficacy of the SFL-TAP and the pervasiveness of CSP in SFL-TAP. The overall goal of this research is to explore the potential for adapting SFL-TAP so that it better serve soldiers in their transition to become civilians
THE MORE-ACT BILL AND COMMUNITES OF COLOR More-Act Bill ( H.R. 3884 )
Full text linkThis research focuses on the MORE-Act bill and the intersections of the legalization of marijuana, the disparate effects on the war on drugs for communities of color, and financial reinvestment into certain persons, business and social programs and services to better serve vulnerable communities impacted by the war on drugs. The primary data and themes in the literature review of this research gathers scholarly and practitioner arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana and its effects on persons of color. The data will be used to validate my three research assumptions about the bill and collected through a mixed methods approach using structured key expert interviews and surveys using a convenience sampling. The study’s potential impact may lead to a decrease in marijuana related arrests in communities of color particularly among African American and Latino/Hispanic men
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Cyber Security of South Pacific Division’s Water Dam Systems
Full text linkThe study is conducted in a technological framework in the context of designs of industrial system control, model attack, and security solutions. There were fifteen occurrences selected and analysed using a search methodology with a number of public information sources from the government inquiry reports to scientific journals. Each incident included scenarios, answers, remediations and lessons learned. The results of this research revealed that cyber-attacks are increasing, complex and challenging for water dams. Also, new threats were developed such as crypto-jacking and ransomware. Current vulnerabilities and hazards such as insiders’ threats have repeatedly stressed the need for an adaptable, collaborative and a general water cyber security strategy. The research study is focused on a mixed method approach utilizing a population sample strategy and key informant interviews to gather information on identifying the possibility of a cyber-attack on SPD’s water dam control systems considering the themes in the literature review. Based on the survey responses and key informant interviews, my theory of change and assumption 1, 2 and 3 was validated. The probable impact of this research can be beneficial to identify risk-mitigation strategies for assessing the security of a water dam system. Remote operations at the water dams can be disabled to minimize cyber-threats and vulnerabilities
Leadership Diversity in the 49th Military Police Brigade
Full text linkThe retention and promotion of underrepresented minorities in the California National Guard (CNG) remains a challenge. A study of this problem may benefit commanders at all levels by introducing methods to retain experienced soldiers representative of the population in California. This research project refers to academic studies dealing with diversity and retention throughout the military as well as professional organizations writ large. To better understand the problem within the scope of available time a single major command within the CNG is studied: the 49th Military Police (MP) Brigade. A data collection plan that includes interviews with subject matter experts in the area of diversity and retention as well as survey data completed by target groups are analyzed. This study will inform organizational leaders on the efficacy of adopting leadership programs and incentives to retain, promote and assign underrepresented minorities not only in the 49th MP Brigade but the entire California National Guard
Privity vs. Proximity: The Supreme Court’s Erroneous Reading of the Illinois Brick Doctrine in Apple Inc. v. Pepper
Full text linkThe rapid development of the digital marketplace led the United States Supreme Court to revisit the forty-two year old antitrust precedent set in Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois. In Illinois Brick, the Supreme Court decided that under Section 4 of the Clayton Act, direct purchasers have standing to sue for treble damages due to unfair business practices, while indirect purchasers do not. Over four decades later, in Apple Inc. v. Pepper, the Court reevaluated this doctrine. This time, the Court had to determine which party received the “direct purchaser” status in a situation where plaintiffs bought apps from third-party developers in Apple’s App store at prices set by the developers.
iPhone users argued that Apple unlawfully monopolized the retail market for the sale of apps, setting higher-than-competitive prices and locking consumers into buying apps only from Apple. Apple asserted a statutory standing defense under Illinois Brick, arguing that the plaintiffs did not have standing because they were not direct purchasers from Apple. The Court found that iPhone users who purchased apps from the App Store were direct purchasers because they purchased apps directly from Apple and thus have standing under Illinois Brick to sue for damages due to alleged antitrust violations under Section 4 of the Clayton Act.
This Comment proposes that the Apple majority should have read the Illinois Brick Doctrine through the traditional proximate cause analysis of the Clayton Act. In its primary context, antitrust law was considered a codification of the common law, and any conduct that restrained trade was considered on par with other harmful torts. Accordingly, under the tort concept of proximate cause, the correct plaintiff with standing to bring suit for damages is the one most proximately harmed by the antitrust conduct. iPhone users have a causal link between Apple and themselves due to purchasing apps directly from the App Store and are thus directly harmed by Apple’s alleged monopolistic conduct. Moreover, by declaring that iPhone users were direct purchasers under the Illinois Brick Doctrine because they contracted with Apple, the majority confirmed a pass-on theory that was rejected by both Illinois Brick and Hanover Shoe. The Illinois Brick opinion was concerned with tracing complex economic adjustments and stated that pass-on cases would allow for apportionment of the recovery throughout the distribution chain and increase the overall costs of recovery. Under a proximate cause analysis, this complexity would be eliminated, as the Court may compute damages through a comparison of markets, rather than estimating the amounts passed on at each stage of the distribution chain
Constitution-Free Zones: How the Fourth Amendment Rights of Americans are Violated at and Near the Border
Full text linkThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. U.S. Const. amend. XIV. Border Patrol continues to abuse their authority to this day
