An exploratory study to identify the predictors of sexual reoffending by male sexual offenders in Western Australia

As the prediction of the risk of sexual reoffending behaviour has become more important in the corrections setting, so has the development of instruments to assist practitioners in doing risk evaluations. International research underpins most of the instruments used in Western Australia (WA), and in Australia for that matter. The present study explored the predictive accuracy of instruments developed internationally and locally as a function of ethnicity (Indigenous and non Indigenous) and nature of offending (non violent sexual and violent sexual). The Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Recidivism (RRASOR) and the Static 99 were the international instruments, for the prediction of sexual reoffending, that were evaluated. Two WA instruments were investigated. Firstly, the Violent Offender Treatment Program Risk Assessment Scale (VOTP RAS), also called the Level of Service Need Inventory (LOSNI), an instrument that was developed to predict violent reoffending. Secondly, the 3-Predictor model that was previously developed by Allan and Dawson (2002) to predict sexual reoffending of Indigenous sexual offenders. Available data suggested that the locally developed 3-Predictor model was the most accurate of all these instruments

Task Force on Digital Directions in the Humanities

This report was prepared with assistance by Ann Cudd, Kristine Latta and members of the task force.Recommendations of a task force formed by KU Libraries, the Hall Center for the Humanities, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to fund an institute for digital humanities research.KU Libraries; Hall Center for the Humanities; College of Liberal Arts and Science

Equity and Public Education Finance in Virginia

Until there is an equality of financing, there can be no equality of quality

Reconstructing palaeoflyways of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene Red Knot Calidris canutus

Bird migration systems must have changed dramatically during the glacial–interglacial cycles of the Pleistocene and as novel habitats became available since the last glacial maximum. This study combines molecular dating of population divergence times with a review of polar-centred palaeovegetation and intertidal habitats world-wide to present a hypothesis for the evolution of Red Knot Calidris canutus flyways. Divergence dates from coalescent analysis of mitochondrial control region sequences indicate that C. c. canutus diverged from the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of Red Knots about 20000 (95% CI 60000–4000) years ago. About 12000 (95% CI 45000–3500) years ago this MRCA diverged into two lineages, now represented by the North American breeding C. c. roselaari, C. c. rufa and C. c. islandica and the Siberian breeding C. c. piersmai and C. c. rogersi, respectively. Divergence times of these two Siberian breeding subspecies are about 6500 (95% CI 25000–1000) years ago, and populations of the North American breeding subspecies are estimated to have diverged within about the last 1000 years. These divergence times suggest that all ancestral populations of knots emerged within the last glacial period of the Pleistocene via an eastward expansion into North America. This scenario implies that, contrary to contemporary opinions, C. c. islandica was not recently derived from C. c. canutus despite the fact that they are morphologically similar and that their contemporary migration routes overlap in the Wadden Sea. Instead, C. c. islandica is most closely related to the other North American breeding subspecies C. c. roselaari and C. c. rufa. Thus, C. c. islandica only recently pioneered its current migration route to Europe, following the amelioration of winter conditions in the Wadden Sea and the formation of staging habitat in Iceland. This implies that, in Red Knots at least, the Greenland/Iceland migratory route was established very recently from breeding grounds in the Americas to wintering grounds in Europe and not vice versa as previously believed.

Inclusive Education in the United States

School reform issues addressing inclusive education were investigated in this nationwide (United States) study. A total of 714 randomly selected middle school principals and teachers responded to concerns about inclusion, "degree of change needed in" and "importance of" collaborative strategies of teaching, perceived barriers to inclusion, and supportive activities and concepts for inclusive education. There was disagreement among teachers and principals regarding some aspects of inclusive education and collaborative strategies. For example, principals and special education teachers were more positive about inclusive education than regular education teachers. Collaboration as an instructional strategy for "included" students was viewed as a high priority item. Responders who had taken two or more courses in school law rated the identified barriers to inclusive education higher than those with less formal training in the subject

Managing at the Speed of Light: Improving Mission-Support Performance

The House and Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittees requested this study to help DOE's three major mission-support organizations improve their operations to better meet the current and future needs of the department. The passage of the Recovery Act only increased the importance of having DOE's mission-support offices working in the most effective, efficient, and timely manner as possible. While following rules and regulations is essential, the foremost task of the mission-support offices is to support the department's mission, i.e., the programs that DOE is implementing, whether in Washington D.C. or in the field. As a result, the Panel offered specific recommendations to strengthen the mission-focus and improve the management of each of the following support functions based on five "management mandates":- Strategic Vision- Leadership- Mission and Customer Service Orientation- Tactical Implementation- Agility/AdaptabilityKey FindingsThe Panel made several recommendations in each of the functional areas examined and some overarching recommendations for the corporate management of the mission-support offices that they believed would result in significant improvements to DOE's mission-support operations. The Panel believed that adopting these recommendations will not only make DOE a better functioning organization, but that most of them are essential if DOE is to put its very large allocation of Recovery Act funding to its intended uses as quickly as possible

Inclusive Education in the United States

School reform issues addressing inclusive education were investigated in this nationwide (United States) study. A total of 714 randomly selected middle school principals and teachers responded to concerns about inclusion, "degree of change needed in" and "importance of" collaborative strategies of teaching, perceived barriers to inclusion, and supportive activities and concepts for inclusive education. There was disagreement among teachers and principals regarding some aspects of inclusive education and collaborative strategies. For example, principals and special education teachers were more positive about inclusive education than regular education teachers. Collaboration as an instructional strategy for "included" students was viewed as a high priority item. Responders who had taken two or more courses in school law rated the identified barriers to inclusive education higher than those with less formal training in the subject