Probation in Maine: Setting the Baseline

In 2005, the Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC), with support from the National Institute of Corrections, began implementing a series of evidence‐based principles in community corrections with the goal of improving the effectiveness of offender management in the community. This study was conducted to determine the types, extent, and frequencies of adult probation recidivism in Maine before and during the implementation period. The study finds that recidivism rates of offenders who entered probation in 2004, 2005, or 2006 did not change significantly across annual cohorts, but lower risk offenders appeared to have improved outcomes in 2006. Higher risk probationers performed worse over the three year period, as they faced greater supervision and case planning requirements. The study concludes that without sufficient cognitive based therapy services, management’s increased focus on higher risk offenders will only mean increased supervision, and could lead to higher recidivism outcomes

Maine Crime & Justice Data Book 2008 (2009)

The 2008 Maine Crime and Justice Data Book presents a portrait of crime and justice indicators in the state, using the most recent Department of Public Safety, Department of Corrections and court data available for Maine. Totals were disaggregated to the state, county and municipal levels (where possible) and stratified by crime type, age of offender and gender. The data book consists of four sections, 1) Index Crimes in Maine, 2) Arrests and Clearances in Maine, 3) Courts and Corrections, and 4) Maine’s Adult and Juvenile Recidivism Outcomes. While Maine has the lowest violent crime rate in the country, certain crimes, most notably forcible rate and domestic assaults, are occurring more often. In addition, drug and alcohol arrests account for a disproportionate share of all arrests made. This report also examines the rise of incarceration rates, a trend which is having profound social and fiscal impacts on the state and counties. Finally, this report offers both adult and juvenile recidivism data for the first time

2011 Maine Crime Victimization Survey Report: Informing Public Policy for Safer Communities

Executive Summary: The purpose of the Maine Crime Victimization Survey (MCVS) is to better understand the nature and extent of crime in Maine. This report discusses findings of the 2011 survey and highlights areas of comparison with the original MCVS, which was conducted in 2006. Many states, including Idaho, Utah, and Minnesota, have conducted state specific crime victimization surveys because the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), a national data source on crime trends, cannot be parsed to the state level. Maine has been and is following this trend to better understand the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization. This survey complements the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which are the only comprehensive data source of reported crime in Maine. UCR data are collected by local law enforcement, and compiled and released by the Maine Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for state and national analysis. While the UCR provides information on selected reported crimes and arrests made by law enforcement agencies, it does not provide information about unreported crimes or the characteristics of victims and offenders

Puzzling It Out: The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects - A Consensus Statement

Scientific research has established that if all children are to achieve their developmental potential, it is important to lay the foundation during the earliest years for lifelong health, learning, and positive behavior. A central question is how well our public pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs are doing to build this foundation.Forty-two states and the District of Columbia, through 57 pre-K programs, have introduced substantial innovations in their early education systems by developing the infrastructure, program sites, and workforce required to accommodate pre-K education. These programs now serve nearly 30 percent of the nation's 4-year-olds and 5 percent of 3-year-olds

Application of Paleoclimatology to Coral Reef Monitoring and Management

The skeletons of reef-building corals are valuable archives of climatic and environmental information. Paleoclimatic data chiefly have been generated in areas most sensitive to global or regional climatic variability. However, these records also provide valuable information on anthropogenic influences – guidance of value to resource managers. NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch targets observations of current and past coral reef health in or near marine protected areas through satellites, in situ sensor platforms, and paleoclimatic analyses. Paleoclimatic data provide retrospective monitoring through multi-century environmental reconstructions that improve our understanding of past stress to coral reefs. Two sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary were the first to benefit from Coral Reef Watch Program paleoenvironmental analyses. Coral cores yielded direct measurements of δ18O, δ13C, Sr/Ca, and coral skeletal growth (extension, density, and calcification) and reconstructions of reef temperatures. Temperature reconstructions were compared with instrumental data from nearby stations and global data sets, while skeletal growth was used to infer responses to changing climatic and environmental conditions. Differences between paleoclimatic data and gridded datasets demonstrated that paleodata provide more accurate estimates of reef temperatures as they sample subsurface temperatures where the corals live. Because of relatively high thermal variability, at least 12 samples per year are needed at these sites. Further work will extend these records back in time, to new locations, and expand on the data reconstructed from the skeletal archives

Trials and tribulations: understanding motivations for clinical research participation amongst adults with cystic fibrosis

In the context of understanding motivations for clinical research participation, many authors consider issues such as informed consent and how patients perceive the research method and process. However, many investigations focus only on one method of research, most commonly the randomised controlled trial. Understanding how chronically ill members of one specific patient group respond to all requests for research participation are rare. Cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic condition whereby those affected are used to taking a wide array of treatments and attending a specialist care centre over many years, and are generally knowledgeable about their condition, represents an ideal case for investigating how staff requests for clinical research participation are accepted or declined. Using Bloor's systems of relevance framework for risk behaviour and risk reduction, specialist CF centre patients' motivations for participation or non-participation in clinical research can be understood. The framework takes into account two sets of conceptual oppositions: habituation and calculation, constraint and volition. These oppositions represent a range along a continuum of risk behaviour rather than being absolute distinctions. Decisions to participate are influenced mainly by the patient's state of health at the time of request, the nature of the trial and the social context within which sufferers are placed. Understanding why chronically ill patients refuse some requests and yet accept others may assist researchers in designing protocols that take these factors into account and achieve the desired numbers of participants whilst protecting those in vulnerable positions. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

An investigation of the impact of young children's self-knowledge of trustworthiness on school adjustment: a test of the realistic self-knowledge and positive illusion models

The study aimed to examine the relationship between self-knowledge of trustworthiness and young children’s school adjustment. One hundred and seventy-three (84 male and 89 female) children from school years 1 and 2 in the United Kingdom (mean age 6 years 2 months) were tested twice over one year. Children’s trustworthiness was assessed using: (a) self-report at Time 1 and Time 2, (b) peers’ reports at Time 1 and Time 2, and (c) teacher-reports at Time 2. School adjustment was assessed by child-rated school-liking and the Short-Form Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment. Longitudinal quadratic relationships were found between school adjustment and children’s self-knowledge, using peer-reported trustworthiness as a reference: more accurate self-knowledge of trustworthiness predicted increases in school adjustment. Comparable concurrent quadratic relationships were found between teacher-rated school adjustment and children’s self-knowledge, using teacher-reported trustworthiness as a reference, at Time 2. The findings support the conclusion that young children’s psychosocial adjustment is best accounted for by the realistic self-knowledge model (Colvin & Block, 1994)

Effect of substrate thermal resistance on space-domain microchannel

In recent years, Fluorescent Melting Curve Analysis (FMCA) has become an almost ubiquitous feature of commercial quantitative PCR (qPCR) thermal cyclers. Here a micro-fluidic device is presented capable of performing FMCA within a microchannel. The device consists of modular thermally conductive blocks which can sandwich a microfluidic substrate. Opposing ends of the blocks are held at differing temperatures and a linear thermal gradient is generated along the microfluidic channel. Fluorescent measurements taken from a sample as it passes along the micro-fluidic channel permits fluorescent melting curves to be generated. In this study we measure DNA melting temperature from two plasmid fragments. The effects of flow velocity and ramp-rate are investigated, and measured melting curves are compared to those acquired from a commercially available PCR thermocycler