A Quiet War: The Judiciary\u27s Steady and Unspoken Effort to Limit Felony-Murder

On a Wednesday afternoon a sixteen-year-old boy is hanging out after school with four of his friends. He is your average sixteen-year-old; he has a girlfriend who works at Wendy’s, and his current worry is about passing his driving test. He smokes some weed from time to time with his friends, but he has a clean criminal record. After complaining about being broke and deciding they have nothing better to do, the five friends elect to break into a seemingly vacant home in order to steal some items for resale. He is already thinking about what he will buy with the extra cash while knocking on the home’s door to double-check that it is empty. He thinks he does not receive a reply, making the unarmed break-in easy. But within minutes, everything changes. The boys realize they are not alone, as evident by the homeowner’s gun shots firing at the panicked teens. The kid has never even held a gun but is now shot in the leg. The sixteen year- old’s vision blurs from the pain, but not in time to miss his friend collapse dead beside him. Only four boys remain living when the police arrest them each for murder. Although none of the teenagers touched a weapon during the robbery, the surviving boys are each convicted of felony-murder in connection with the death of the fifth robber

Soil and Human Health

Healthy soil is considered an ecosystem with a multitude of interrelated parts that can provide multiple benefits such as sustaining plant and animal production and health, enhancing or maintaining water and air quality, managing nutrient availability, accumulating soil carbon, supporting biodiversity, and reducing erosion. Soil health is the foundation of crop health and productivity, as well as sustainable agriculture. A secondary research study relating soil health and human health was conducted via a literature review consisting of scholarly articles from Kennesaw State University’s library database. The purpose of this research is to thoroughly investigate the topic of soil health and its relation to human health. Also, we are interested in exploring the dynamics of how chemical mixtures in the environment influence human health. Our goal is to synthesize existing literature on soil science and convey the linkages between the health and quality of soil and its impact on human health

Symposium: Pandemics and the Constitution: Calling Their Own Shots: Governors\u27 Emergency Declarations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper outlines governors’ powers to combat public health emergencies, and then analyzes specific measures taken by the states in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. State powers to quarantine, isolate, and take other measures to protect the public health and welfare are well-established, going back to the police power reserved for states in the Tenth Amendment and recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court over one hundred years ago. Additionally, most state constitutions and statutes specifically grant governors authority to take a variety of protective measures during emergencies. While large-scale quarantine and isolation orders have not been previously implemented in the United States, these powers rest comfortably within states’ authority to address public health emergencies

Who Should Reproduce; Perpetuating Archaic Value Judgements of Procreation in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Abstract Forthcoming

Editorial: Engaging in open, flexible, and distance learning with a new editorial team

This editorial provides insights into the processes of scholarly publishing, at a time of handover to a new editorial team, to publicise evidence of quality processes and leadership. Publishing trends are also briefly identified. The issue also publishes the first set of papers that have been further developed from the research stream of the 2014 biennial conference of The New Zealand Association for Open, Flexible and Distance Learning (DEANZ). We are happy to be able to include papers that represent the wide area of open, flexible, and distance learning supported by our Aotearoa New Zealand association. We start with a paper on using learning management systems to support personalised learning in primary schools, and this is followed by papers situated in the tertiary sector on software literacy in a university’s programmes, embedded librarians in the tertiary sector, and research into social work. The final paper provides a literature review on the highly topical subject of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The editorial puts the papers into current contexts globally and within the region to inform the field worldwide

Editorial: Prizing Equity in Education and Research in the Field of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning

Valuing more open and equitable approaches to practice and research in the field of flexible, open, and distance learning enables the editors of the Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning (JOFDL) to better describe the distinctive mission for the journal, which is uniquely situated in a bicultural nation where complementary approaches of indigenous cultures and western science are best braided. Three of the four research papers introduced for this issue provide answers to the DEANZ 2014 conference question of “Where is the ‘e’ in engagement?”, which referred to engagement of students from organisational and faculty perspectives. Bonk and Khoo’s (2014) recent text book on that conference topic is also celebrated in a book review. In contrast, the fourth paper identifies the possibilities for increased engagement between administrators and the staff that they lead in virtual charter schools. The editorial also describes the increasing visibility of JOFDL in collections worldwide.

Open, Flexible and Distance Learning in a Post-Truth World

The times they are a-changin’. It’s a prophetic song, and one that’s been around long enough to attest to times that are always changing, as very little stands still for long. In this Editorial there are many changes noted, including changes in the editorial team, changes in the profile of this Journal, and a look at changes in the way open, flexible and distance learning is both given and received in the post-truth world. Increased skills in information literacy and digital literacy have become fundamental in this new landscape, enabling able learners to navigate their way in this ‘new’ world with an open mind and a critical eye. There will be changes for educators as well, as we try to manage teaching and learning in this new educational setting