Man Bites Dog with Ohio\u27s Vicious Dog Statute

This article discusses Ohio’s vicious dog statute, ORC 955.11, signed into law in July 1987. Section II provides background information on pit bulls and their general reputation in society. Section III explains how dogs and dog ownership were regulated under the old law, and then Section IV delves into how the new law operates to regulate dogs. Section V moves into issues of Constitutionality, and Sections VI and VII discuss alternative options and proposes changes to the new law

Of Sap and Tears

I sit in the woods and watch the stream admiring the trees as they ripple and flow Waves sweep us in, lulled into dream-sleep, carrying us away-- content to settle beneath the gentle caress certain to end as we bega

The Surrender

Light revolves patterning grey age faces in flashing momentary brilliance-- exposing shadow dreams of victorious kingdoms built in bottle caps the shrapnel of hope\u27s treachery-- to be swept away with debris of belie

'The park a tree built': Evaluating how a park development project impacted where people play

Community parks have achieved recognition as a public health intervention to promote physical activity. This study evaluated changes in population-level physical activity when an undeveloped green space adjacent to transitional housing for refugees was transformed into a recreational park. A prospective, nonrandomized study design used the System of Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) to document the number and activity levels of park users over time, and to compare trends pre- and post-construction. T-tests or tests of medians (when appropriate) were used to compare pre- and post- construction changes in use of non-park and park zones for physical activity and changes in park use by age and gender. Pre- and post-comparisons of people observed using non-park zones (i.e., adjacent streets, alleys and parking lots) and park zones indicated a 38% decrease in energy expended in non- park zones and a 3-fold increase in energy expended within the park (P = 0.002). The majority of park users pre- and post-construction were children, however the proportion of adolescent males observed in vigorous activity increased from 11% to 38% (P = 0.007). Adolescent females and elderly continued to be under-represented in the park. Our findings support an association between creation of accessible outdoor spaces for recreation and improvements in physical activity. Community involvement in park design assured that features included in the park space matched the needs and desires ofthe communities served. Some demographic groups were still under-represented within the park, suggesting a need to develop targeted outreach strategies and programming.Ye

Whole Health coaching to rural Veterans through telehealth: Advantages, gaps, and opportunities

BackgroundThe Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is one of the largest providers of telehealth in the United States and continues to lead the way in transforming healthcare services. VHA has been implementing its Whole Health (WH) initiative since 2018, a proactive practice empowering patients to take charge of their health and well-being. A key facilitator of the WH initiative is the WH coach who partners with Veterans to achieve their health-related goals. A gap exists in the literature regarding the understanding of WH coaches’ use of telehealth to engage rural-residing Veterans. COVID-19 unexpectedly interrupted in-person VHA delivery of care, including WH coaching which primarily relied on in-person delivery and focused less on telehealth. During the pandemic, WH coaches had to adapt and integrate different modalities to engage their Veteran patients. We examined WH coaches’ approaches to extending coaching to rural Veterans via technology, emphasizing the advantages of telehealth, existing gaps in telehealth delivery, and opportunities for telehealth as a coaching modality.MethodsThis project was implemented as part of a larger mixed methods evaluation regarding WH coaching for rural Veterans; this manuscript presents the findings from the qualitative data from the larger study. The qualitative dataset is comprised of data collected using three different qualitative methods: four focus groups (n = 11; 3–4 participants per group), in-depth individual interviews (n = 9), and open-ended responses from a national web-based survey (n = 140). Focus group, in-depth interview, and open-ended survey data were collected sequentially and separately analyzed following each wave of data collection. Findings from the three analyses were then collaboratively merged, compared, reorganized, and refined by the evaluation team to create final themes.ResultsThree final themes that emerged from the merged data were: (1) Advantages of Telehealth; (2) Telehealth Gaps for Rural Veterans, and (3) Strategies for Bridging Telehealth Gaps. Themes explicate telehealth advantages, gaps, and opportunities for rural Veteran WH coaching.ConclusionFindings highlight that video telehealth alone is not sufficient for meeting the needs of rural Veterans. Digital technologies hold promise for equalizing health access gaps; however, both human factors and broadband infrastructure constraints continue to require WH coaches to use a mix of modalities in working with rural Veterans. To overcome challenges and bridge gaps, WH coaches should be ready to adopt a blended approach that integrates virtual, in-person, and lower-tech options

The Continuing Use of Problematic Sexual Stereotypes in Judicial Decision-Making

This article examines the continuing use of problematic sexual stereotypes at appellate level in the English and Welsh legal system. Using five cases as illustrations, it argues that, notwithstanding professional training and guidance on sexual equality matters, certain senior judges in this jurisdiction still at least sometimes openly employ crude and problematic sexual stereotypes in their judgments or fail to deal appropriately with the use of these stereotypes by trial judges. The central point is that there is still a significant problem with the open use of crude sexual stereotypes in legal reasoning at a senior level in this jurisdiction, despite the pressure on all members of the legal system to appear to be ‘politically correct’