The Judicial Election Gag Is Removed-Now Texas Should Remove Its Gag and Respond

This Note begins by examining the facts of Republican Party of Minnesota v. White.Il Second, it examines the history of the judicial election system in Texas. Third, it examines the development of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct and compares the American Bar Association\u27s (ABA) past and current judicial codes with the Texas counterparts. Fourth, the Note analyzes the Supreme Court\u27s decision and discusses the ramifications the White ruling will likely have on the judicial election process in Texas. Finally, this Note discusses possible alternatives to the electoral process in an effort to respond to the likely ramifications of White as well as improve the judiciary in Texas

Academic optimism and instructional leadership in urban elementary schools

In response to the increase in accountability, based on federal and state legislation, educators have searched for factors to positively impact student achievement. The Coleman Report (1966) stated that student socioeconomic status was the greatest predictor of academic success. Researchers and educators alike have worked to demonstrate that other factors within a school\u27s control may be powerful predictors as well and may assist schools in overcoming this environmental obstacle. The purpose of this study was to examine academic optimism as a construct consisting of academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and trust in students and parents and their relationship to instructional leadership behaviors and student achievement among a sample of urban elementary schools in Virginia.;A convenience sample of 35 urban elementary schools in Virginia serving students K-5 was used to collect survey data from full-time teachers during a faculty meeting using the Norfolk Public Schools Teacher Climate Survey. Student achievement data were obtained from the 2008--2009 Virginia Standards of Learning assessment results in English and mathematics for students in grades 3--5.;The initial factor analysis confirmed that academic optimism is a unified construct comprised of academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and trust in students and parents. The construct of instructional leadership was also confirmed using a factor analysis to ensure the survey items pulled together and measured along a common factor. Correlational analyses demonstrated a moderate, positive relationship between academic optimism and student achievement and academic optimism and instructional leadership even when controlling for socioeconomic status. Correlational analysis did not demonstrate a direct relationship between instructional leadership and student achievement. While limited, this study may offer educational practitioners insight on how instructional leaders can indirectly impact student achievement by creating a culture of academic optimism

Surviving Hurricane Michael - Helping Individuals with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness, Foster Families and Child Welfare Involved Families Prepare and Recover

During a natural disaster the preparation and recovery can be challenging, and is further complicated when working with individuals and families with histories of trauma, serious mental illness, and involvement in child welfare. In natural disaster the social service professionals and their families may also be impacted. This requires agencies and service professionals to provide support for those served while dealing with personal loss and helping their families adapt and recover. This is a perspectives from the field article describing the challenges of preparing for and recovering from Hurricane Michael, which struck the Florida panhandle on October 10, 2018. These perspectives are from three social service workers reflecting on their experiences in working with individuals with serious and persistent mental illnesses, foster families and children involved in child welfare

Perception Profiling & Prolonged Solitary Confinement Viewed through the Lens of the Angola 3 Case: When Prison Officials Become Judges, Judges Become Visually Challenged, and Justice Becomes Legally Blind

Solitary confinement is a tool used by the American prison system without a sufficient check on its application. Current practice provides that an inmate\u27s solitary confinement is reviewed at regular intervals by Executive-branch prison administrators. They have employed it to enforce discipline and order in the prison population, but simultaneously have ridden roughshod over inmates\u27 substantive due process rights by failing to provide a meaningful opportunity for a hearing of the facts and justifications for the continued and prolonged solitary confinement of prison inmates. Many, too many inmates have been kept in solitary confinement for extended periods-some for decades-without any meaningful review of their subjugation by the courts. The article makes several recommendations that would alleviate this abdication of justice and deprivation of constitutional rights

The Incongruous Intersection of the Black Panther Party and the Ku Klux Klan

When, in 2015, a Louisiana prison warden publically likened the Black Panther Party to the Ku Klux Klan, I was stunned. The differences between the two groups seemed so extreme and so obvious I could not imagine ineptness of this magnitude. Not long after this, a Georgia legislator unashamedly express that the Ku Klux Klan was not a racist, terrorist group, but merely a vigilante group trying to keep law and order. After initial dismay, each of these instances evoked thoughts of the far-reaching implications of officials making operational and policy decisions around such a flawed appreciation of history. These lapses prompted me to consider what this type of oblivion might mean when unleashed elsewhere in society, such as in the employment realm, schools, law enforcement encounters with citizens, the judicial system, or within the regulation of professions. At best, continued lapses of this nature have the potential to cause an abysmal pattern of individual injustices. At worst, they could contribute to outright racial unrest in society. Tragically, this is all preventable. All that is needed is unsanitized and factually accurate historical information upon which to rely, an awareness of how important it is to think outside one’s own cultural identity, and a willingness to do so. This Article critically examines two of the most infamous, racially-associated groups in the history of this country: the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and the Black Panther Party (BPP). “The Ku Klux Klan, a secret association formed by white vigilantes during Reconstruction, carried out violent attacks primarily against African Americans.” The KKK was a “violent and explosive” “organized terror group[].” In contrast, “[t]he BPP was a multifaceted association of American citizens who . . . did not believe in pleading, begging, praying, or patiently waiting for equal rights to be conferred.” “They felt equality was a birthright, demanding it was a duty, having it delayed was an insult, and compromise was tantamount to social and political suicide.” The BPP “provided a model for people moving from protest to radical ideas to revolutionary action.” This Article proceeds in two parts. In Part I, the KKK will be juxtaposed against the BPP. Specifically, Part I will (1) explain why each group was formed and highlight the geographical presence of each group; (2) probe the mission and objectives of each organization; (3) reveal the respective identities of each group; (4) closely analyze how, by the work and practices of each group, they fulfilled their respective organizational goals; (5) consider ways law and the legal system impacted each group; and (6) evaluate the public’s reaction to each group. Part II will evaluate the larger meaning of the various group nuances discussed in Part I

CA2 Pyramidal Layer

This report contains a gene expression summary of the CA2 pyramidal cell layer (CA2sp), derived from the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) in situ hybridization mouse data set. The structure's location and morphological characteristics in the mouse brain are described using the Nissl data found in the Allen Reference Atlas. Using an established algorithm, the expression values of the CA2sp were compared to the values of the macro/parent-structure, in this case the pyramidal layer of Ammon’s Horn, for the purpose of extracting regionally selective gene expression data. The genes with the highest ranking selectivity ratios were manually curated and verified. 50 genes were then selected and compiled for expression characterization. The experimental data for each gene may be accessed via the links provided; additional data in the sagittal plane may also be accessed using the ABA. Correlations between gene expression in the CA2sp and the rest of the brain, across all genes in the coronal dataset (~4300 genes), were derived computationally. A gene ontology table (derived from DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 2007) is also included, highlighting possible functions of the 50 genes selected for this report