Indigenous disparity in lower court imprisonment decisions: a study of two Australian jurisdictions, 1998 to 2008

This paper reports findings from statistical analyses of Indigeneity and lower court sentencing in New South Wales and South Australia from 1998 to 2008. The aim was to explore the probability of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous defendants receiving a prison sentence over time, while controlling for other key sentencing determinates (ie sex, age, criminal history, seriousness of current offence, plea, bail status). Across the study period, results generally showed that Indigenous offenders were more likely to receive a prison term than similarly situated non-Indigenous offenders. However, the pattern of disparity over time differed by jurisdiction. In New South Wales, Indigenous offenders were more likely to receive a prison sentence throughout the entire period. By contrast, in the South Australian lower courts, disparity was found to have increased, with earlier years showing parity and leniency, before a trend towards a greater likelihood of a prison sentence for Indigenous offenders. Focal concerns theory is used to provide a possible explanation for the study’s finding of Indigenous lower court sentencing disparity

Publisher's Comments

Welcome to the Journal of Biocommunication, the professional journal of the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) and the BioCommunications Association (BCA). This JBC, issue 47-2, represents our second issue of the 2023 publishing year. We would like to thank our Management Board, our editors, our advisors, and our authors for their contributions to the success of our Journal. We appreciate the ongoing support from our JBC community around the world. In particular, we acknowledge the support of the AMI and the BCA. It's a privilege to be chosen as the professional academic journal of these two organizations

Discourse of ‘Dysfunction’: Sentencing Narratives and the Construction of Indigenous Offending

Using a narrative analysis of judges sentencing remarks in South Australian higher courts, we explore whether broader discourses ‘dysfunction’ ‘disorganisation’, ‘deprivation’ and ‘pathology’ impact understandings of Indigenous offending and subsequent constructions of Indigenous defendants in the sentencing process.Sydney Institute of Criminology; School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Sydne

Los Angeles County Womens Needs Assessment: Findings from the 2022 Survey of Women Experiencing Homelessness

Women experiencing homelessness as individuals—those who are not accompanied by or seeking services with a partner, children, or other dependents—are a growing population in Los Angeles County and nationally. In Los Angeles County, these women make up 68 percent of all women experiencing homelessness and 20 percent of all individuals experiencing homelessness. Prior research has highlighted the challenges and negative outcomes that women experiencing homelessness face. In recognition of the growing population of women experiencing homelessness and their needs, the City and County of Los Angeles passed resolutions naming women a unique subpopulation of people experiencing homelessness, and the County Homelessness Initiative, in partnership with the Downtown Women's Center (DWC), engaged the Urban Institute and the Hub for Urban Initiatives to conduct the first countywide women's needs assessment to answer key questions around demographics, experiences, and needs and preferences related to housing, shelter, and services for women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County Womens Needs Assessment: Listening Session Findings

In 2020, the City and County of Los Angeles recognized that unhoused, unaccompanied women are a distinct, vulnerable group of people experiencing homelessness who require unique policies, solutions, and services. Since 2001, the Downtown Women's Center (DWC) has conducted the Women's Needs Assessment (WNA) every three years to survey the the needs and characteristics of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles as well as the conditions they face. Funded by the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, the 2022 Women's Needs Assessment will be the first conducted countywide. DWC and the Homeless Initiative engaged the Urban Institute, in partnership with the Hub for Urban Initiatives, to conduct this expanded assessment. The research team is applying a mixed-methods, community-based approach to intentionally elevate the voices of unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. As part of this approach, the research team conducted listening sessions with women across the county. This brief contains the findings from those listening sessions, including women's experiences within the homelessness response system and what they are looking for in housing and homeless services

Master Leasing in Los Angeles: Opportunities and Limitations

On any given night in 2020, nearly 50,000 people endured unsheltered homelessness in Los Angeles County. In response to stagnating progress on placing people in housing, local and statewide agencies have been experimenting with various distinct strategies commonly referred to as "master leasing." In practice, these master leasing strategies vary dramatically in terms of legal responsibilities, opportunities, limitations, and implementation costs. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation engaged the Urban Institute to explore the feasibility and potential infrastructure of a master leasing strategy in Los Angeles. This report categorizes different master leasing strategies, discusses their associated opportunities and limitations, examines potential infrastructure models, and provides a financial framework for understanding costs

Expanding horizons: new roles for non-canonical RNA-binding proteins in cancer

Cancer development involves the stepwise accumulation of genetic lesions that overcome the normal regulatory pathways that prevent unconstrained cell division and tissue growth. Identification of the genetic changes that cause cancer has long been the subject of intensive study, leading to the identification of several RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) linked to cancer. Cross-reference of the complement of RBPs recently identified by RNA interactome capture with cancer-associated genes and biological processes led to the identification of a set of 411 proteins with potential implications in cancer biology. These involve a broad spectrum of cellular processes including response to stress, metabolism and cell adhesion. Future studies should aim to understand these proteins and their connection to cancer from an RNA-centred perspective, holding the promise of new mechanistic understanding of cancer formation and novel approaches to diagnosis and treatment

Exercise training in group 2 pulmonary hypertension: which intensity and what modality

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to left-sided heart disease (LSHD) is a common and disconcerting occurrence. For example, both heart failure (HF) with preserved and reduced ejection fraction (HFpEF and HFrEF) often lead to PH as a consequence of a chronic elevation in left atrial filling pressure. A wealth of literature demonstrates the value of exercise training (ET) in patients with LSHD, which is particularly robust in patients with HFrEF and growing in patients with HFpEF. While the effects of ET have not been specifically explored in the LSHD–PH phenotype (i.e., composite pathophysiologic characteristics of patients in this advanced disease state), the overall body of evidence supports clinical application in this subgroup. Moderate intensity aerobic ET significantly improves peak oxygen consumption, quality of life and prognosis in patients with HF. Resistance ET significantly improves muscle strength and endurance in patients with HF, which further enhance functional capacity. When warranted, inspiratory muscle training and neuromuscular electrical stimulation are becoming recognized as important components of a comprehensive rehabilitation program. This review will provide a detailed account of ET programing considerations in patients with LSHD with a particular focus on those concomitantly diagnosed with PH

Molecular simulations unravel the molecular principles that mediate selective permeability of carboxysome shell protein

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are nanoscale proteinaceous organelles that encapsulate enzymes from the cytoplasm using an icosahedral protein shell that resembles viral capsids. Of particular interest are the carboxysomes (CBs), which sequester the CO 2 -fixing enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) to enhance carbon assimilation. The carboxysome shell serves as a semi-permeable barrier for passage of metabolites in and out of the carboxysome to enhance CO 2 fixation. How the protein shell directs influx and efflux of molecules in an effective manner has remained elusive. Here we use molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling calculations to determine the free-energy profiles of the metabolic substrates, bicarbonate, CO 2 and ribulose bisphosphate and the product 3-phosphoglycerate associated with their transition through the major carboxysome shell protein CcmK2. We elucidate the electrostatic charge-based permeability and key amino acid residues of CcmK2 functioning in mediating molecular transit through the central pore. Conformational changes of the loops forming the central pore may also be required for transit of specific metabolites. The importance of these in-silico findings is validated experimentally by site-directed mutagenesis of the key CcmK2 residue Serine 39. This study provides insight into the mechanism that mediates molecular transport through the shells of carboxysomes, applicable to other BMCs. It also offers a predictive approach to investigate and manipulate the shell permeability, with the intend of engineering BMC-based metabolic modules for new functions in synthetic biology