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Managing Mass Tort Claims Through Chapter 11: An Analysis of Multiple Case Studies
Get PDFIn July 2017, Georgia-Pacific executed a “Texas Two-Step” to move all pending mass tort liabilities into Bestwall LLC prior to filing it for bankruptcy. Since Bestwall LLC’s bankruptcy filing, Johnson and Johnson, Saint-Gobain, and Trane Technologies have all implemented similar mass tort management strategies. Through individual analyses of the LTL Management LLC, Bestwall LLC, DMBP LLC, and Aldrich Pump LLC bankruptcy cases, this thesis explores how chapter 11 bankruptcy is being used to manage mass tort liability claims, the impact chapter 11 law has on tort liability resolutions, and the role of Congress in regulating a corporation’s ability to manage mass tort claims through chapter 11. Key findings include: the presiding Judge plays a critical role in determining case progression, chapter 11 may uniquely benefit debtors over mass tort claimants, and Congress should wait to legislate until a corporation’s ability to manage mass tort claims through chapter 11 is established
Comparing the Mental Health Care Policies and Economic Effects in Australia and the United States: Implementing the “headspace” Centre Model
Get PDFThe prevalence of mental and behavioral health problems is currently high in most, if not all, countries. In the U.S. and elsewhere we have seen the impact of an increasingly stressful time, as we live through the pandemic, social unrest, war, and divisive politics. Costs of mental health problems include not only the direct expense of treatment but also indirect costs of loss of productivity and the impacts on society, including substance abuse, family dysfunction, homelessness, crime, etc. The headspace model, which originated in Australia, is a new approach for addressing mental health issues for adolescents and young adults. After almost two decades in operation, this model has demonstrated an encouraging degree of success. Because of the positive results from Australia, several other countries have tried (or are trying) to adopt the same model, typically focused on the youth. This paper aims at exploring how the new Australian approach to mental health care might be applied more broadly across the population, and specifically, how the headspace model might be an example for designing services for adults in the U.S. Why focus on adults? Because their disorders are more likely to be more deeply embedded, they have more direct impacts on the economy and the community, and they do not have a safety net of a school system or parental influence
Palladium-Catalyzed Deprotonative Cross-Coupling and Carbonylative Cross-Coupling Processes
No full textMetal-catalyzed direct C−H bond activation arylation reactions of non- or weakly acidic C−H bonds have recently received much attention. Compared to traditional catalysts that activate C−H bonds, conventional deprotonative cross-coupling processes (DCCP) undergoes an in-situ C−H deprotonation and metalation of the substrate under catalytic cross-coupling conditions. DCCP reactions are generally directing-group-free methods employing simple starting materials under mild reaction conditions. This thesis describes mechanistic study of DCCP-type triarylation of benzylic methyl groups and introduces two novel methods of deprotonative carbonylation of weakly acidic benzylic C(sp3)−H bonds. In Chapter 1, a comprehensive mechanistic study of our palladium-catalyzed deprotonative triarylation of heteroarylmethanes at the benzylic C-H bonds is reported. The reaction works with a variety of aryl halides, enabling the rapid synthesis of triaryl(heteroaryl)methanes. Mechanistic studies point to Pd(cataCXium A)2 being the resting state of the catalyst and reductive elimination being the turnover-limiting step in the ultimate catalytic cycle. In Chapter 2, a novel highly selective palladium-catalyzed deprotonative carbonylation of azaarylmethylamines with aryl bromides under 1 atm of CO gas has been achieved. The methods enable access to key components of numerous biologically active natural products and synthetic compounds. The key to success is the presence of a NIXANTPHOS-based palladium catalyst, which efficiently activates aryl bromides and facilitates the deprotonative cross-coupling process under CO. Chapter 3 presents a novel, selective and high-yielding palladium-catalyzed carbonylative arylation of a variety of weakly acidic (pKa 25–35 in DMSO) benzylic and heterobenzylic C(sp3)−H bonds with aryl bromides. The Josiphos-based catalytic system, identified by high-throughput experimentation (HTE), solved the selectivity issue in deprotonative carbonylation reactions, providing ketone products without the formation of direct coupling byproducts. Additionally, (Josiphos)Pd(CO)2 was identified as the catalyst resting state. A kinetic study suggests that the oxidative addition of aryl bromides is the turnover-limiting step. Key catalytic intermediates including (Josiphos)Pd(Ar)(Br) and (Josiphos)Pd(COAr)Br were also isolated
Synthesis and Characterization of Functional Materials Using Silica Colloidial Crystals, Their Inverse Replicas, and Layered Double Hydroxides
No full textThe design of materials with tunable properties is at the forefront of material-based applications. The key to materials design is understanding their fundamental characteristics and establishing a structure-property correlation. This dissertation explores fundamental aspects of synthesis and characterization of functional materials designed using colloidal crystals, inverse replicas, and layered materials for electronics and energy devices applications. We have combined particle assembly and High Pressure confined Chemical Vapor Deposition (HPcCVD) to create ordered and electrically continuous 3D nanostructures of metals and semiconductors, defined as metalattices. These nanostructures have crystalline arrays of uniform particles in which the period of the crystal is close to the characteristic physical length scale of the material, for example, exciton Bohr radius in semiconductors, making them tunable for electronic, plasmonic, thermoelectric and spintronics applications. Silica nanoparticles in the range of 20-120 nm, assembled as micron thick films using vertical deposition technique, were used as templates for metalattice design. The interstices in the colloidal crystal films were infiltrated with polycrystalline semiconductors (Ge/Si/ZnSe) and metals (Ni/Pt/Ag/Pd/Au) using HPcCVD to obtain corresponding metalattices.We have developed a core-shell chemical passivation strategy for Ge metalattice prepared by infiltration of ~70 nm silica colloidal crystal using HPCVD. The oxide-free Ge core shows quantum confinement which depends on the void size in the silica template. The size of Ge sites dictated by the voids in the template and core-shell interdiffusion of Si and Ge can, in principle, be tuned to modify the electronic properties of the Ge metalattice. We have also investigated the structures of colloidal crystalline films and germanium metalattice in detail by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Particles smaller than ~32 nm diameter assemble into body centered cubic, whereas particles larger than 32 nm assemble into random hexagonal close pack structures with 2D hexatic phase. Polycrystalline films of these materials retain their structure, and long-range order upon infiltration at high temperature and pressure, and the structure is preserved in Ge metalattice. This detailed understanding of particle arrangements in the template can help in establishing structure-property relationships in the metalattices.We also explore material design made from layered materials for application in energy systems. We discuss method for controlled assembly of oppositely charged nanosheets using tri-block co-polymer F127 to tune their interactions and study the synthesis and anion exchange of Mg-Al, Zn-Al and Co-Al layered double hydroxides. We characterize their structural, thermochemical, and ionic conduction properties to understand their fundamental behavior for applications as anionic conductors in electrochemical systems operating between 100-250 °C
Accelerated Design of Architected Materials with Geometric Heterogeneity for Enhanced Failure Characteristics
No full textNature provides countless examples of the use of material heterogeneity to enhance the failure properties of materials. Many biological materials, such as bone, marine shells, and fish scales, are extremely resilient to fracture and failure. These often consist of regions that are highly mineralized and stiff and regions of biopolymers that are extremely soft. In practice, combining such disparate materials in synthetic systems is fraught with difficulties, such as poor interfacial adhesion. However, we will show, geometric heterogeneity can lead to similar enhancements to failure characteristics, including distribution of voids (inspired by bamboo) and spatial variations in fiber orientation (inspired by many materials, such as aorta). With the nearly arbitrary arrangements of materials that is enabled by 3D printing, it is possible to produce systems with bioinspired, spatially-varying microstructures that results in large improvements to failure properties. In this dissertation, I will discuss two types of geometric heterogeneities that can be easily introduced to architected materials enhancing their failure characteristics. First, inspired by the microstructure of the dactyl club of the Mantis shrimp, we show how geometric defects that are intrinsic to extrusion-based additive processes (voids and weak interfaces) can be spatially arranged in a helical (Bouligand) pattern to produce complex crack patterns and enhanced energy absorption. Next, we show how spatial variations in fiber orientation (inspired by aorta) can be produced using direct ink writing (DIW), leading to soft composites with high toughness and fatigue threshold. Such geometric heterogeneities in architected materials, and the 3D printing processes used to create them, introduce a large number of parameters into the material design process, such as infill layer angle, fiber orientation, void placement, etc. Bio-inspiration provides a starting point and some basic intuition about how to design heterogeneous materials for improved failure properties, but it cannot guarantee optimal failure properties. I will therefore conclude the talk with a discussion of the use of Bayesian optimization for the acceleration of the design of architected heterogeneous materials with optimal failure properties. We will introduce a multi-fidelity Bayesian optimization approach to accelerate the design of heterogeneous triangular lattices with maximal energy absorption during compressive loading
Preparing One’s Act: Performance Supports and the Question of Human Nature in Early China
No full textSince the 20th century, Chinese institutions have been recovering a growing number of ancient objects, among which figure manuscripts produced during the Warring States (453–221 BCE) era. These are the protagonists of this dissertation. Chapter 1 articulates the overarching goal of my study: the importance of rigorous philological and intellectual engagement to promote the significance of these manuscripts in and beyond the study of early Chinese history. In Chapter 2, I analyze manuscripts produced around 300 BCE as what I call “performance supports,” rather than self-contained philosophical and historical essays. My notion of performance supports incorporates observations about the composite nature of early Chinese manuscripts, but better accounts for other textual features, such as errors, abrupt endings, list-like passages, etc. Chapter 3 discusses the implications of my thesis. I show how performance supports were used in practices of knowledge management that relied on, but went beyond, the written medium. I explore oratory, recitation, literary compositions, and writings used to organize and retrieve knowledge. Second, I compare performance supports to other Warring States texts, so as to highlight the peculiarities of both groups and confirm that the concept of performance support is not an ad-hoc solution. Chapter 4 focuses on the performance support *Natural Dispositions Come from Endowment 性自命出, and reconstructs ways in which this manuscript functioned as the basis for central philosophical debates on human nature during the Warring States period. The dissertation is completed by a new philological study of *Natural Dispositions
Essays in Urban Economics and Public Finance
No full textHousing policy poses unique and outsized economic significance. The first chapter, Returns to Political Contributions in Local Housing Markets investigates whether firms donate to political campaigns in order to influence supply in local housing markets. Using new data on local campaign donors in the U.S. and a regression discontinuity design in close mayoral elections, I uncover three key findings. Politically connected residential development firms sell more new housing units, consistent with mayors awarding discretionary favors to donors. Favors shape the supply of new housing citywide, as mayors with more residential development donors double permits for new housing construction. But differences in housing policy between mayors are empirically more important than favors for determining local housing supply. The second chapter, Poverty Alleviation by a Large-Scale Homeownership Program evaluates whether homeownership alleviates poverty by exploiting a large-scale affordable housing program in Brazil. Linking applicants to administrative data on formal employment, we investigate the impact homeownership has on labor supply, earnings, mobility, occupations, and formalization. Becoming a homeowner reduces wages, increases hours worked, and increases formal labor market participation. New homeowners increase public sector employment and, consistent with the home voter hypothesis, political participation. Expanding homeownership primarily accelerates formalization of the poor
Essay on Sustainable Finance
No full textThis dissertation has three independent chapters. The first chapter investigates how the environmental liability of lenders affects debtors\u27 behavior. I use U.S. Census Bureau micro-data and the passage of the Lender Liability Act as a novel identification strategy to answer this question. Firms increase on-site pollution, cut investment in abatement technology, and incur 17.54% more environmental regulatory violations when secured lenders become less responsible for the cleanup cost of their collateral. The effects are stronger for firms close to bankruptcy or with high environmental risks. This lower environmental compliance slightly benefits employment, but does not change wages or production. Overall, financial constraints that may be alleviated due to reduced lender liability do not result in pollution mitigation investment or increased production; instead, my findings suggest that reduced lender liability lessens banks’ incentives to influence the practices of their debtors. The second chapter studies how Private Equity (PE) firms affect firms\u27 environmental outcomes in the oil and gas industry. On average PE ownership leads to a 70% reduction in the use of toxic chemicals and a 50% reduction in satellite-based measures of CO2 emissions. However, this average effect hides significant heterogeneities. PE-backed firms increase pollution in locations and periods where environmental liability risk is low, as shown by a novel natural experiment that reduced these risks for projects located on federal and Native American territories. Overall, high-powered incentives to maximize shareholder value may benefit environmental outcomes when the risk of environmental regulation is high. The third chapter is joint work with J. Anthony Cookson, Erik Gilje, Rawley Heimer. We study the effect of personal wealth on entrepreneurial decisions using data on mineral payments from Texas shale drilling to individuals throughout the United States. Large cash windfalls increase business formation by 0.8 to 2.1 percentage points, but do not affect transitions to self-employment. By contrast, cash windfalls significantly extend self-employment spells, but do not affect the duration of business ownership. Our findings help reconcile contrasting findings in prior work: liquidity constraints have different effects on entrepreneurial activity that may depend on the entrepreneur’s motivations
Collation Model for Oversize Ms. Codex 1271: [Opuscula]
Get PDFA collection of small theological works by or attributed to Thomas Aquinas, often written in response to specific requests. One of these works, known as the Epistola ad ducissam Brabantiae (f. 67r-68r), which responds to a question from Marguerite of Constantinople, countess regnant of Flanders, about the treatment of Jews within her territory, is accompanied by two other unpublished responses to the same question, one attributed in the text to the Franciscan John Peckham and the other unattributed but possibly by theologian Gerard of Abbeville (Christie\u27s). The manuscript contains numerous contemporary and later annotations, including texts for the rubricator, corrections to the text, and other notes.https://repository.upenn.edu/sims_models/1046/thumbnail.jp
Recessions and Retirement: New Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the US labor market, leading to an unprecedented loss of 22 million jobs in March and April 2020. Evidence from past recessions indicates that economic downturns are typically associated with an increase in retirements. In this study, we revisit the relationship between recessions and retirement in the COVID-19 era, using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) supplemented by other data on economic and COVID conditions. We find that higher unemployment is associated with an increase in the probability of transitioning from employment to being out of the labor force during the pre-pandemic period, consistent with previous studies. Surprisingly, however, retirement transitions during the pandemic have been insensitive to local labor market conditions. Our finding that the probability of retirement increased during the pandemic but that retirements are largely unrelated to local economic or COVID conditions points to a potential role for common national factors such as generalized health concerns, government policies, or stock market gains