The Dangers of Detention: The Impact of Incarcerating Youth in Detention and Other Secure Facilities

This policy brief looks at the consequences of detention on young people, their families, and communities. This policy brief shows that, given the new findings that detaining youth may not make communities safer, the costs of needlessly detaining young people who do not need to be there are simply too high. Policymakers, instead, should look to detention reform as a means to reduce the number of young people needlessly detained, and reinvest the savings in juvenile interventions proven to reduce recidivism and crime, and that can help build healthy and safe communities

Spine Biomechanics Associated with the Shortened, Modern One-Plane Golf Swing

The purpose of this study was to compare kinetic, kinematic, and performance variables associated with full and shortened modern backswings in a skilled group of modern swing (one-plane) golfers. Shortening the modern golf backswing is proposed to reduce vertebral spine stress, but supporting evidence is lacking and performance implications are unknown. Thirteen male golfers performed ten swings of each swing type using their own 7-iron club. Biomechanical-dependent variables included the X-Factor kinematic data and spine kinetics. Performance-related dependent variables included club head velocity (CHV), shot distance, and accuracy (distance from the target line). Data were analysed with repeated measures ANOVA with an a priori alpha of 0.05 (SPSS 22.0, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). We found significant reductions for the X-Factor (p \u3c 0.05) between the full and shortened swings. The shortened swing condition ameliorated vertebral compression force from 7.6 ± 1.4 to 7.0 ± 1.7 N (normalised to body weight, p = 0.01) and significantly reduced CHV (p \u3c 0.05) by ~2 m/s with concomitant shot distance diminution by ~10 m (p \u3c 0.05). Further research is necessary to examine the applicability of a shortened swing for golfers with low back pain

'Preditors': Making citizen journalism work

Although there is great interest in citizen journalism services that harness user-generated content, the continuing contribution of professional staff who coordinate such efforts is often overlooked. This paper offers a typology of the work of the professional "preditors" who continue to operate at the heart of "pro-am" journalism initiatives. It shows that their work takes place along four dimensions – content work, networking, community work and tech work. It suggests that this is a structural change in journalistic practice, which has implications for journalists' professional identity and journalism education

The Relationship Between Vitamin D and Calcium/Dairy Intake and Obesity in Children

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between vitamin D and calcium intake and obesity in a population of young adolescents who participated in a Vitamin D and Sunlight Exposure study in Pittsburgh, PA. Participants: 252 healthy 6 to 14.9 year old young adolescents (54% male, 69% African American) were recruited between June 2006 and December 2009. Main outcome measures: Weight status, BMI, vitamin D intake, calcium intake, vitamin D and calcium rich food intake. Results: A significant difference by race was observed with 30.1% of African Americans and 8.5% of Caucasians being obese (P\u3c0.01). No difference was found by gender. Median (25%, 75%) vitamin D intake in the total population was 254.9 IU (146.8, 407.3) which is below the level recommended by the Institute of Medicine. Median calcium intake in the total population was 1193.6 mg (752.8, 1161.1) which met recommended guidelines. Median vitamin D intake differed by weight status (normal, overweight, obese) in the total population (259.5 IU, 325.2 IU and 181.9 IU, respectively; P=0.015). A similar pattern was observed for calcium (1193.4 mg, 1416.3 mg and 911.6 mg, respectively; P=0.016). No correlation was found between vitamin D or calcium intake and BMI in the total population or by race and gender. Conclusion: Vitamin D and calcium intake was significantly different based on weight status, particularly in obese and African American subjects. Vitamin D intake in the population was reportedly below recommended guidelines. Further research is necessary to determine the ideal vitamin D and calcium intake in children for optimal health status, including longitudinal studies to better assess the relationship between vitamin D and calcium intake and weight status

Election Flops on YouTube

In an election campaign as drawn out as this, you'd have to have excellent memory to remember the hype around John Howard's use of YouTube to make policy announcements. Some months ago, the media were all over the story - but unfortunately for the Prime Minister, much like the widely-predicted poll 'narrowing', the YouTube effect has been missing in action

Beyond Gotcha: Blogs as a Space for Debate

The mainstream media and critics of Web 2.0’s "cult of the amateur" often suggest that blogs and citizen journalism will never replace their mainstream counterparts because they "don’t break stories". Notwithstanding the fundamental furphy – who ever said anything about "replacing" the MSM anyway? – there is some truth in this. It goes without saying that most bloggers don’t have the resources, pulling power or proximity to the pollies to do much original political reporting: this is something that most sensible public affairs bloggers concede. (Though how often the mainstream media really break stories – as against exploiting deliberate, calculated ‘leaks’ from party spinsters – is a separate question.

Blogging outside the Echo Chamber

In the current political climate, it's no surprise that a number of sessions at the recent Australian Blogging Conference at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane focussed on the potential for blogs and other citizen journalism sites to impact on political news and punditry. In a previous article, we've already noted the continuing skirmishes between psephologist bloggers and the political commentators, whose rather unscientific interpretation of opinion poll results that some bloggers have challenged fervently

The Mystory: The Garage D'Or of Ereignis

The performance of identity involves impression management, social skills, and self-reflexivity. To perform identity in media environments involves writing our identities into being. Media environments have facilitated a new kind of selfhood—brand—in which we model our identities on celebrities. However, because brand identity has no ethical grounding, it raises legitimate concerns. To incorporate ethics, I perform my identity through mystory, Gregory Ulmer’s genre of reflexive writing. By composing a mystory, I consult with an avatar—which in Hindu tradition was a god descended into earthly form—that reveals my ethical condition and a pathway through it. This consultation functions as pharmakon (Derrida, 1995), revealing truths to me which both wound and heal. I use mystory to address a personal question, “How do I lead an ethical life?” and a policy problem: water pollution in Florida. The conclusion of this essay presents a response to this problem: a performance art piece designed to teach manatees about mortality

The legal status of the Virginia high school principal in maintaining pupil discipline

This study will determine the legal position of a Virginia high school principal with respect to discipline. Is his position hindered continuously by court rulings? Many principals state that they cannot discipline effectively with the courts breathing down their necks. In comparing the questionnaires received from Virginia principals with a case law study of pupil control decisions, the question of legal limitations on the principal\u27s authority may be resolved. Within the question of limita- tions, the determination of the legal points which either are not known or not understood by Virginia high school administrators can also be ascertained. As a result, the author may then arrive at the steps needed to be taken by the Virginia principal in order to avoid litigation over his control of pupil conduct

How Do You Make a Society Wise?

A wise society looks after the well-being of its citizenry. In order for there to be a wise society, though, many or most of its citizenry also must be wise since they create the society. But the society must educate its citizens to be wise