Displacement of Persons by Major Public Works: Anthropological Analysis of Social and Cultural Benefits and Costs from Stream Control Measures--Phase 5

This study is concerned with social change and social impact of a major public works project on the human population required to relocate the persons being forced to sell to the Federal Government or turn over through condemnation proceedings homes, farms, and/or businesses to facilitate completion of a Federally authorized stream control measure. It is intended to test the utility of anthropological method and concept in evaluating and explicating sociocultural impact, and in addition to check hypotheses concerning importance of impact on social and economic areas of culture of the persons to be displaced, on their emigration patterns, and their cultural adaptation, and other social effects of relocation. Conclusions reached are that application of anthropological concepts and methods yield more intelligible results than sociological studies based on data generation through highly artificial questionnaire methods with attempted quantification of what are basically non-quantifiable data. This does not mean that simple counts and raw percentage comparisons are not significant to demonstrate trends, but that complex arithmetic computations are often used to imply a degree of precision that does not exist and explains nothing, Social scientists, planners, and change agents must come to realize that there are aspects of the quality of human life which must be considered which cannot be defined in numbers. The study also presents evidence for the conclusion that in forced relocation in modern rural Kentucky, and probably elsewhere, social disruption is perceived as less disastrous and threatening, therefore less tension-producing, than perceived economic ill-effects. Finally, the study suggest ways in which the action agency involved in environment-changing major works could by social science-oriented planning mitigate the social costs of its operation

From Punishment to Treatment: A Providers’ Perspective on the Implementation of 2009 Rockefeller Drug Law Reforms in New York

Background: In 2009, New York reformed its “Rockefeller Drug Laws”, terminating mandatory imprisonment for many drug charges and expanding the availability of treatment alternatives to incarceration. The reforms occurred in an environment characterized by high incarceration rates, racial/ethnic disparities in drug convictions and incarceration rates, and expanded use of alternatives to incarceration. Early administrative data show a large impact on the criminal justice system. Few studies have considered the reforms from the providers’ perspective and none have sought to understand how providers are experiencing the reforms in their everyday practice. Methods: To provide a providers’ perspective, we use a qualitative, case-study approach entailing in-depth interviews with drug treatment program leaders and staff in six of the leading New York City drug programs, all with extensive experience treating court-mandated clients. Our goal was to assess treatment providers’ experiences during the reforms’ first years in effect. Results: The providers’ reports indicate that no new administrative structures or processes have been developed to foster a changed relationship between the treatment system and the criminal justice system; that the reforms failed to establish an enhanced role for treatment providers in the courts; and that client assessment, decisions on choice of treatment modalities, and program length for mandated clients continue to be dominated by criminal justice rather than clinical concerns. The providers also report some improvements in their communications and relationships with court employees involved in court-mandated cases. Conclusion: Despite some positive changes, implementation issues are potentially limiting the reforms’ ability to capitalize fully on the potential cost-savings and improvements in public health and safety that can result from the appropriate use of drug treatment as an alternative to incarceration. What appears to be occurring alongside the evolving shift from punishment to treatment under the terms of the reforms is a growing demand for treatment providers to meet the requirements of the powerful criminal justice system

A comprehensive analysis of constant-time polynomial inversion for post-quantum cryptosystems

Post-quantum cryptosystems have currently seen a surge in interest thanks to the current standardization initiative by the U.S.A. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). A common primitive in post-quantum cryptosystems, in particular in code-based ones, is the computation of the inverse of a binary polynomial in a binary polynomial ring. In this work, we analyze, realize in software, and benchmark a broad spectrum of binary polynomial inversion algorithms, targeting operand sizes which are relevant for the current second round candidates in the NIST standardization process. We evaluate advantages and shortcomings of the different inversion algorithms, including their capability to run in constant-time, thus preventing timing side-channel attacks

Measurement properties of quality-of-life measurement instruments for infants, children and adolescents with eczema: a systematic review

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is one of the core outcome domains identified by the Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative to be assessed in every eczema trial. There is uncertainty about the most appropriate QoL instrument to measure this domain in infants, children and adolescents. Objectives: To systematically evaluate the measurement properties of existing measurement instruments developed and/or validated for the measurement of QoL in infants, children and adolescents with eczema. Methods: A systematic literature search in PubMed and EMBASE, complemented by a thorough hand search of reference lists, retrieved studies on measurement properties of eczema QoL instruments for infants, children and adolescents. For all eligible studies, we judged the adequacy of the measurement properties and the methodological study quality with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Results from different studies were summarized in a best evidence synthesis and formed the basis to assign four degrees of recommendation. Results: 17 articles, 3 of which were found by hand search, were included. These 17 articles reported on 24 instruments. No instrument can be recommended for use in all eczema trials because none fulfilled all required adequacy criteria. With adequate internal consistency, reliability and hypothesis testing, the US version of the Childhood Atopic Dermatitis Impact Scale (CADIS), a proxy-reported instrument, has the potential to be recommended depending on the results of further validation studies. All other instruments, including all self-reported ones, lacked significant validation data. Conclusions: Currently, no QoL instrument for infants, children and adolescents with eczema can be highly recommended. Future validation research should primarily focus on the CADIS, but also attempt to broaden the evidence base for the validity of self-reported instruments

Years of life lost to prison: racial and gender gradients in the United States of America

© 2008 Hogg et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Economic analysis of crossbreeding programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: A conceptual framework and Kenyan case study

Conventional economic evaluations of crossbreeding programmes have overestimated their benefits by ignoring subsidies, the increased costs of management such as veterinary support services, and the higher levels of risk and socio-environmental costs associated with the loss of the indigenous genotypes. A conceptual evaluation framework is developed and applied to Kenyan dairy farmers. Results suggest that at the national level crossbreeding has had a positive impact on Kenyan society's welfare, although taking into account important social cost components substantially lowers the net benefits. Farm-level performance is, however, little improved under certain production systems by replacing the indigenous zebu with exotic breeds

Transport and Use of a Centaur Second Stage in Space

As nations continue to explore space, the desire to reduce costs will continue to grow. As a method of cost reduction, transporting and/or use of launch system components as integral components of missions may become more commonplace in the future. There have been numerous scenarios written for using launch vehicle components (primarily space shuttle used external tanks) as part of flight missions or future habitats. Future studies for possible uses of launch vehicle upper stages might include asteroid diverter using gravity orbital perturbation, orbiting station component, raw material at an outpost, and kinetic impactor. The LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining whether water exists at the polar regions of the moon. Manifested as a secondary payload with the LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) spacecraft aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle, LCROSS guided its spent Centaur Earth Departure Upper Stage (EDUS) into the lunar crater Cabeu's, as a kinetic impactor. This paper describes some of the challenges that the LCROSS project encountered in planning, designing, launching with and carrying the Centaur upper stage to the moon

The global burden of scabies: a cross-sectional analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.

Background Numerous population-based studies have documented high prevalence of scabies in overcrowded settings, particularly among children and in tropical regions. We provide an estimate of the global burden of scabies using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2015. Methods We identified scabies epidemiological data sources from an extensive literature search and hospital insurance data and analysed data sources with a Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2·1, to yield prevalence estimates. We combined prevalence estimates with a disability weight, measuring disfigurement, itch, and pain caused by scabies, to produce years lived with disability (YLDs). With an assumed zero mortality from scabies, YLDs were equivalent to disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). We estimated DALYs for 195 countries divided into 21 world regions, in both sexes and 20 age groups, between 1990 and 2015. Findings Scabies was responsible for 0·21% of DALYs from all conditions studied by GBD 2015 worldwide. The world regions of east Asia (age-standardised DALYs 136·32), southeast Asia (134·57), Oceania (120·34), tropical Latin America (99·94), and south Asia (69·41) had the greatest burden of DALYs from scabies. Mean percent change of DALY rate from 1990 to 2015 was less than 8% in all world regions, except North America, which had a 23·9% increase. The five individual countries with greatest scabies burden were Indonesia (age-standardised DALYs 153·86), China (138·25), Timor-Leste (136·67), Vanuatu (131·59), and Fiji (130·91). The largest standard deviations of age-standardised DALYs between the 20 age groups were observed in southeast Asia (60·1), Oceania (58·3), and east Asia (56·5), with the greatest DALY burdens in children, adolescents, and the elderly. Interpretation The burden of scabies is greater in tropical regions, especially in children, adolescents, and elderly people. As a worldwide epidemiological assessment, GBD 2015 provides broad and frequently updated measures of scabies burden in terms of skin effects. These global data might help guide research protocols and prioritisation efforts and focus scabies treatment and control measures. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Flight Operations for the LCROSS Lunar Impactor Mission

The LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen concentrated at the polar regions of the moon. Co-manifested for launch with LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), LCROSS guided its spent Centaur upper stage into the Cabeus crater as a kinetic impactor, and observed the impact flash and resulting debris plume for signs of water and other compounds from a Shepherding Spacecraft. Led by NASA Ames Research Center, LCROSS flight operations spanned 112 days, from June 18 through October 9, 2009. This paper summarizes the experiences from the LCROSS flight, highlights the challenges faced during the mission, and examines the reasons for its ultimate success