Movement Function Follows Spatial Form: Coordinate System Implications for Online Visual Feedback Control of the Hand

Closed loop visual feedback control of the hand is essential for accurate reaching movements. Without visual signals of either the hand or target position, reaches are inaccurate and imprecise; therefore the brain uses a relative positional signal to control movements online. Previous studies suggest that movements are planned and represented in a polar coordinate system and that the dimensions, direction and extent are independently specified and processed. We were interested to find out whether there was behavioral evidence for the independent control of hand direction and extent as a movement unfolded. We asked subjects to make a reaching movement in a virtual reality environment in which we singularly removed the visual presentation of direction and extent information of the moving hand. Results from this experiment suggest that people control the direction and extent of hand position independently during the course of a movement. With that in mind, we reasoned that if these two dimensions were controlled independently then human responses to actual visuomotor perturbations would reflect that processing. Therefore we asked subjects to perform point to point reaching movements with a visuomotor displacement and recorded their hand positions. The trajectories were then compared to model predictions of visuomotor control to determine what type of coordinate system and control architecture most closely mimicked human behavior. We chose 2 model systems, the Next State Planner: NSP) which could be implemented in different coordinate systems, and the Stiff-Viscous: SV) model which implements control by generating corrective feedback torques. We used systems engineering metrics to evaluate human and model responses. Results from this study suggest that feedback responses of humans to visuomotor perturbation are most closely modeled by a controller than compares spatial locations of the hand and target in a polar coordinate system. Our final investigation into the numerical underpinnings of this type of control system demonstrates that using a polar coordinate system to represent movement space naturally optimizes feedback control of point to point reaches. Taken together our works suggests that the brain has evolved to represent this particular movement space in polar-like coordinates in part to efficiently enact closed loop control of the hand

Will Boys Just Be Boyz N the Hood? African-American Directors Portray a Crumbling Justice System in Urban America

In the 1990s several African-American directors have explored issues of urban justice through stories of children growing up in urban America. Films such as Boyz N the Hood have brought vivid images of disenfranchised and violent neighborhoods and the obstacles involved in growing up in these neighborhoods. These films question whether the criminal justice system works in neighborhoods isolated from both the creation and the protections of the legal system, and where the rules of the criminal justice system sometimes collide with the rules of the neighborhood justice system

Corporate Compliance Programs: Pretext or Panacea?

Justin S. Brooks\u27 article discusses the effectiveness of corporate compliance programs and factors characterizing well-designed ones. The article explains that mandates to maximize profits for shareholders can encourage bad behavior by officers and directors but that countervailing factors encourage the development and implementation of effective compliance programs. In response to specific questions posed, the author explains that: (1) corporate compliance programs can both weed out non-meritorious or frivolous complaints and facilitate internal and external reporting of meritorious evidence of misconduct; (2) corporate compliance programs sensitize employees to the fact that wrongdoing is plausible, but written directives, communications, and training by management can cause employees to believe that particular conduct is appropriate or in keeping with company policy when such conduct is \u27 in fact \u27 unlawful; and (3) effective corporate compliance programs incorporate the principles of communication, responsiveness, and transparency

Two Countries in Crisis: Man Camps and the Nightmare of Non-Indigenous Criminal Jurisdiction in the United States and Canada

Thousands of Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or have been found murdered across the United States and Canada; these disappearances and killings are so frequent and widespread that they have become known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis (MMIW Crisis). Indigenous communities in both countries often lack the jurisdiction to prosecute violent crimes committed by non-Indigenous offenders against Indigenous victims on Indigenous land. Extractive industries—businesses that establish natural resource extraction projects—aggravate the problem by establishing temporary housing for large numbers of non-Indigenous, primarily male workers on or around Indigenous land (“man camps”). Violent crimes against Indigenous communities around extractive industry projects have in- creased with the establishment of man camps while the current legal systems leave Indigenous communities vulnerable against this clear threat. Both the United States and Canada have endorsed international declarations of Indigenous rights, agreeing to protect Indigenous communities from violence, yet the MMIW Crisis in both countries con- tinues. This Note first argues that both the United States and Canada can best further their commitments to international Indigenous rights while also combatting the MMIW Crisis by allowing Indigenous communities to exercise full criminal jurisdiction over non-Indigenous assailants of Indigenous victims on Indigenous lands. This Note then argues that, until full criminal jurisdiction over non-Indigenous offenders is realized, the United States and Canada can help further Indigenous international rights by providing extractive industries with financial incentives to address their role in enabling the MMIW Crisis

Blood Sugar Sex Magik: A Review of Postconviction DNA Testing Statutes and Legislative Recommendations

Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have adopted some form of postconviction DNA testing law. Some significant challenges arise when these laws are applied to cases like Richards, which do not involve rape kits but rather require a broader view of how DNA testing can prove innocence. Furthermore, the laws are not uniform, and in the politically charged atmosphere of criminal lawmaking, some of the laws are poorly thought out. This Article reviews these postconviction statutes from the perspective of practitioners who litigate these cases, while also exploring the major questions that ought to be addressed by the statutes, including: For what crimes should DNA testing be available? What standards must be met for postconviction testing? Who should do the testing? Who should pay for the testing? Should counsel be appointed? Should there be time limits on the testing? How long should biological material be maintained after conviction, and should there be sanctions for the failure to maintain it properly? Should the courts order DNA results be run through the DNA databank? Should the denial of a DNA testing motion be appealable? Should postconviction DNA testing be granted to those inmates who plead guilty or confessed to their crime? Should testing be available to individuals who are no longer incarcerated or who may be subject to requirements such as sex-offender registration? Ultimately, this Article makes recommendations for statutory changes and interpretations. The Richards case is referred to throughout this Article as a reference point for the rationales behind these recommendations