Offender Race and Clinician Decision-Making in Sexually Violent Predator Evaluations

This study examined associations between offender race and evaluator decision-making in Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) evaluations. Participants were 393 incarcerated sexual offenders who were evaluated for civil commitment as SVPs by three evaluators in Texas between September of 2000 and August of 2018. Evaluators completed the Static-99R, a 10-item actuarial scale that is used to assess recidivism of risk in adult male sex offenders, and the PCL-R, a 20-item, clinician scored measure of interpersonal, affective, and behavioral traits associated with psychopathy as part of their assessment. Generally, evaluators determined if an offender met criteria for a behavioral abnormality that made them more likely to engage in a predatory act of sexual violence, provided diagnoses as appropriate, and made determinations regarding risk level. This study examined whether race moderated the relation between risk measure (i.e., Static99R and PCL-R) scores and decisions pertaining to behavioral abnormality findings, risk level, and diagnoses. There were differences in scoring of the PCL-R across race, with Black offenders scoring higher overall, though particularly on Facet 4 scores, whereas Static-99R scores were more robust across race. Race did moderate the relation between PCL-R Factor 2 and Facet 4 scores and risk, though this was only true when differentiating between low and moderate risk groups. Both Latino and White offenders in the low risk groups scored lower in these PCL-R domains, whereas Black offenders did not show a similar patterns. Further, White offenders who scored higher on the PCLR Facet 4 were more likely than Black or Latino offenders with similar scores to be diagnosed with a paraphilic disorder and be labeled as having a behavioral abnormality. Having mixed victim types, multiple diagnoses, and a greater number of victims were all associated with increased risk and likelihood of being found to have a behavioral abnormality, regardless of race. These findings and their implications are discussed in relation to victim type, victim gender, and racial disparities within the criminal justice and mental health systems

Research inequity in the plant sciences

Do all plant biologists worldwide have equal access to novel methods, enabling them to be equally productive, publish, and receive credit for their research? Or does reduced access to cutting-edge techniques in countries with lower financial resources create an inequity for researchers located there? Such disparities and biases do exist within our discipline and must be addressed if we are to move forward as a more just society. Applications in Plant Sciences has taken steps to address this important issue of research inequity, as outlined below. We now call upon the entire botanical community—researchers, editors and reviewers, funding agencies, and publishers—to work together toward a more equitable environment for all researchers around the world

A Comparison of Computerized Chemical Models for Equilibrium Calculations in Aqueous Systems

A survey of computer programs which are currently being used to calculate the distribution of species in aqueous solutions, especially natural waters, has been made in order to 1) provide an inventory of available programs with a short description of their uses, 2) compare the consistency of their output for two given test solutions and 3) identify major weaknesses or problems encountered from their use. More than a dozen active programs which can be used for distribution of species and activity calculations for homogeneos equilibria among the major anions and cations of natural waters have been inventoried. Half of these programs can also accept several trace elements including Fe, Al, Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ag, Hg, As, Ba, Sr, and B. Consistency between programs was evaluated by comparing the log of the molal concentrations of free ions and complexes for two test solutions: a hypothetical seawater analysis and a hypothetical river water analysis. Comparison of the free major ion concentrations in the river water test case shows excellent agreement for the major species. In the seawater test case there is less agreement and for both test cases the minor species commonly show orders of magnitude differences in concentrations. These differences primarily reflect differences in the thermodynamic data base of each chemical model although other factors such as activity coefficient calculations, redox assumptions, temperature corrections, alkalinity corrections and the number of complexes used all have an affect on the output

Reactivity of neodymium carriers in deep sea sediments: Implications for boundary exchange and paleoceanography

The dissolved neodymium (Nd) isotopic distribution in the deep oceans is determined by continental weathering inputs, water mass advection, and boundary exchange between particulate and dissolved fractions. Reconstructions of past Nd isotopic variability may therefore provide evidence on temporal changes in continental weathering inputs and/or ocean circulation patterns over a range of timescales. However, such an approach is limited by uncertainty in the mechanisms and importance of the boundary exchange process, and the challenge in reliably recovering past seawater Nd isotopic composition (εNd) from deep sea sediments. This study addresses these questions by investigating the processes involved in particulate–solution interactions and their impact on Nd isotopes. A better understanding of boundary exchange also has wider implications for the oceanic cycling and budgets of other particle-reactive elements. Sequential acid-reductive leaching experiments at pH ∼2–5 on deep sea sediments from the western Indian Ocean enable us to investigate natural boundary exchange processes over a timescale appropriate to laboratory experiments. We provide evidence that both the dissolution of solid phases and exchange processes influence the εNd of leachates, which suggests that both processes may contribute to boundary exchange. We use major element and rare earth element (REE) data to investigate the pools of Nd that are accessed and demonstrate that sediment leachate εNd values cannot always be explained by admixture between an authigenic component and the bulk detrital component. For example, in core WIND 24B, acid-reductive leaching generates εNd values between −11 and −6 as a function of solution/solid ratios and leaching times, whereas the authigenic components have εNd ≈ −11 and the bulk detrital component has εNd ≈ −15. We infer that leaching in the Mascarene Basin accesses authigenic components and a minor radiogenic volcanic component that is more reactive than Madagascan-derived clays. The preferential mobilisation of such a minor component demonstrates that the Nd released by boundary exchange could often have a significantly different εNd composition than the bulk detrital sediment. These experiments further demonstrate certain limitations on the use of acid-reductive leaching to extract the εNd composition of the authigenic fraction of bulk deep sea sediments. For example, the detrital component may contain a reactive fraction which is also acid-extractible, while the incongruent nature of this dissolution suggests that it is often inappropriate to use the bulk detrital sediment elemental chemistry and/or εNd composition when assessing possible detrital contamination of leachates. Based on the highly systematic controls observed, and evidence from REE patterns on the phases extracted, we suggest two approaches that lead to the most reliable extraction of the authigenic εNd component and good agreement with foraminiferal-based approaches; either (i) leaching of sediments without a prior decarbonation step, or (ii) the use of short leaching times and low solution/solid ratios throughout

Socio-Economic Instability and the Scaling of Energy Use with Population Size

The size of the human population is relevant to the development of a sustainable world, yet the forces setting growth or declines in the human population are poorly understood. Generally, population growth rates depend on whether new individuals compete for the same energy (leading to Malthusian or density-dependent growth) or help to generate new energy (leading to exponential and super-exponential growth). It has been hypothesized that exponential and super-exponential growth in humans has resulted from carrying capacity, which is in part determined by energy availability, keeping pace with or exceeding the rate of population growth. We evaluated the relationship between energy use and population size for countries with long records of both and the world as a whole to assess whether energy yields are consistent with the idea of an increasing carrying capacity. We find that on average energy use has indeed kept pace with population size over long time periods. We also show, however, that the energy-population scaling exponent plummets during, and its temporal variability increases preceding, periods of social, political, technological, and environmental change. We suggest that efforts to increase the reliability of future energy yields may be essential for stabilizing both population growth and the global socio-economic system

A Report on the Seminar on Demand for Farm Products

This report includes papers presented and discussed at a seminar on demand for farm products, The seminar was sponsored by the Center for Agricultural Adjustment of the Division of Agriculture, Iowa State College, The seminar met for two hours per week for three months during the spring quarter. The seminar was organized to include about 60 members formally designated by the committee. These seminar members, as well as a formal discussant for each topic, evaluated the presentation at each session.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1001/thumbnail.jp

Mapping the hinterland: Data issues in open science

© The Author(s) 2014. Open science is a practice in which the scientific process is shared completely and in real time. It offers the potential to support information flow, collaboration and dialogue among professional and non-professional participants. Using semi-structured interviews and case studies, this research investigated the relationship between open science and public engagement. This article concentrates on three particular areas of concern that emerged: first, how to effectively contextualise and narrate information to render it accessible, as opposed to simply available; second, concerns about data quantity and quality; and third, concerns about the skills required for effective contextualisation, mapping and interpretation of information

The Macroecology of Sustainability

Global consumption rates of vital resources suggest that we have surpassed the capacity of the Earth to sustain current levels, much less future trajectories of growth in human population and economy