Casebooks, Bias, and Information Literacy—Do Law Librarians Have a Duty?

The third principle of the American Association of Law Libraries’ Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competencies states, “A successful researcher critically evaluates information.” This evaluation includes evaluating legal information of material under criteria of “authority, credibility, currency, authenticity, relevance, and bias. ”Does this standard include information contained in legal casebooks? This article’s goal is to show examples of case treatment in casebooks in Constitutional Law, Property, and Civil Procedure which demonstrate authors’ biases in their selection and editing of cases. Under the AALL standards and the ACRL Standards and Framework for Information literacy, librarians should teach students how to think critically about all the legal information presented to them—including casebooks

A Study of Nonprofit Boards of Directors from the Chief Executive Officer\u27s Point of View

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Little has been written to help executive directors of nonprofit organizations with one of the most important parts of their job: working with their Board of Directors. Previous studies show that board-related behaviors are responsible for the difference between effective executives and their less effective peers and that neither academic nor professional literature adequately addresses the board/executive relationship. Behavioral definitions of a good board can be found in books written for board members, but no definition could be found that reflected executives\u27 opinions on what behaviors they value most in the boards with which they must work. This study developed a definition of a good board from the point of view of 200 executive directors of health and human service organizations In the San Francisco Bay Area. The executives were first asked to· rank 25 board behaviors as to their importance to the executive in his/her job performance. These data were then analyzed, and the 12 top-scoring behaviors constituted the good board definition. This definition included the following: 1) The board stays out of administration. 2) The board president runs meeting effectively. 3) The board understands its legal responsibilities. 4) Board members review financial statements and ask for explanations. 5) The board makes pol icy rather than rubber-stamping the executive\u27s suggestions. 6) The board is active in long range planning. 7) Board members accept positions of leadership on the board. 8) The board chooses new members with regard to the skills and connections they offer. 9) Board members prepare for meetings by reading material sent them before the meeting. 10) The board promotes the organization in the community. 11) The board evaluates the executive\u27s performance annually. 12) The board opens doors to possible funding sources. This composite definition was incorporated into a second questionnaire asking the same 200 executives to rate their boards on how often each of the 12 behaviors was actually true for them. The executives were also asked for Information about their board, their organization, and themselves. Scores on the good board scale were then correlated with demographic and situational variables to determine which characteristics of the board, the organization, and the executive were related to their board\u27s effectiveness. The following variables were found to have a significant positive relationship to scores on the good board scale: 1) attendance at board meetings; 2) number of years the executive had been a CEO in this job and others; 3) amount of time the executive spent with the board president; 4) number of members on the board; 5) number of active committees; 6) number of women on the board; 7) number of middle Income members; 8) frequency of board retreats; 9) the executive\u27s service on a board him/herself. It is concluded that executives can Improve board effectiveness by considering an increase in the size of their board, Increasing the number of active committees, working to increase attendance at board meetings, spending more time with the board president, encouraging the board to hold frequent retreats, serving on other boards themselves, and seeking the advice of more experienced executives. The findings also suggest that organizations reverse the traditional dominance of men on nonprofit boards and refrain from seeking members simply for wealth or social prominence. Further research Is recommended to test out the definition of a good board on executive directors In other types of nonprofits and other geographic areas. Additional recommendations for further research Include studying how board size is related to board effectiveness and exploring the dynamics of the executive\u27s relationship with the board president

Profile of Women Incarcerated For Murder in Oklahoma

The present study addresses the need to increase our understanding of women incarcerated for violent crimes, especially murder, by developing a profile of women incarcerated for murder in Oklahoma. Compared to the United States as a whole, Oklahoma has one of the highest per capita rates of female incarceration. While women represent only five percent of the total prison population in the United States, they comprise twelve percent of Oklahoma\u27s prison population (Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1989). Survey data of female inmates in Oklahoma are utilized to study the demographic 45 - characteristics as well as the current and past personal and family background factors of women incarcerated for murder. In addition, recommendations are offered to address the specific needs of women incarcerated for Murder

Essays on Relationship Quality and Outcomes

The heterogeneous nature of romantic relationships leaves much to be studied in terms of the effects of relationship status on economic decision-making and allocations. In particular, it may be that there is greater variation within what are generally considered \u27like\u27 groups--e.g. married couples or cohabiting couples--than there are between these groups. This dissertation examines how this heterogeneity is associated with preferences for investing in children and susceptibility to violence in a relationship. Using two nationally representative, US data sets--the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and the National Survey on Families and Households--I examine outcomes associated with various types and quality of romantic relationships. In two papers, I exploit the detailed nature of Fragile Families to account for previously unobserved heterogeneity within couples, including their likelihood to marry, relationship quality, estimation of the partner\u27s character and the likelihood of financial support from a partner. This study employs linear regression, propensity score matching and ordered probit regression to link relationship quality and expectations of support to different types of investment in children such as reading to children and bringing children to the doctor. I find that attitudinal questions concerning relationship quality and expectations of support are significant predictors of investments in children in some cases and significance is tied to the type of the investment. In the third chapter, I examine heterogeneity of violence and violent relationships and find that, somewhat contrary to a traditional understanding of family violence, women who leave violent relationships tend to forge new relationships without violence and violence can end within a relationship

New insights on Saturn's formation from its nitrogen isotopic composition

The recent derivation of a lower limit for the $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio in Saturn's ammonia, which is found to be consistent with the Jovian value, prompted us to revise models of Saturn's formation using as constraints the supersolar abundances of heavy elements measured in its atmosphere. Here we find that it is possible to account for both Saturn's chemical and isotopic compositions if one assumes the formation of its building blocks at $\sim$45 K in the protosolar nebula, provided that the O abundance was $\sim$2.6 times protosolar in its feeding zone. To do so, we used a statistical thermodynamic model to investigate the composition of the clathrate phase that formed during the cooling of the protosolar nebula and from which the building blocks of Saturn were agglomerated. We find that Saturn's O/H is at least $\sim$34.9 times protosolar and that the corresponding mass of heavy elements ($\sim$43.1 \Mearth) is within the range predicted by semi-convective interior models.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

Effects of Enrichment and Litter Parity on Reproductive Performance and Behavior in BALB/c and 129/Sv Mice

We examined the effect of adding species-appropriate environmental enrichment items to breeding cages of BALB/cAnNCrl and 129S2/SvPasCrl mice. The 3 enrichment conditions were: 1) cotton nesting material; 2) nesting material plus a paper shelter and rolled paper bedding; and 3) an igloo dome with an exercise wheel in addition to the shelter-group enrichments. We measured litter size, litter survival to weaning age, average pup weight at 21 d, and the interlitter interval to evaluate reproductive performance. A random subset of the first- or second-litter offspring from each enrichment condition and strain was assessed in multiple behavioral tests. Enrichment significantly affected anxiety-like behavior and sociability, with the direction of change dependent on strain and sex. Litter parity had greater effects on some reproductive parameters than did the enrichment condition, and this effect was not solely due to a difference between the first compared with subsequent litters. The significant effects of litter parity on the number of pups born and weaned, female pup weight, and interlitter interval were dependent on the enrichment condition in BALB/c but not 129/Sv mice. Offspring from the first or second litter were included in a generational component to investigate whether enrichment effects on reproduction persist in adult offspring after transfer to a different facility for breeding. Natal cage enrichment had no effect on any reproductive parameter in the transferred mice. Overall, additional enrichment beyond nesting material had a beneficial effect on the interlitter interval in BALB/c mice and on the number of pups weaned in 129/Sv mice

Mediating effects of dietary intake on associations of TV viewing, body mass index and metabolic syndrome in adolescents

Objective Evidence suggests that TV viewing is associated with body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents. However, it is unclear whether dietary intake mediates these relationships. Methods A cross‐sectional analysis was conducted in adolescents (12–19 years) participating in the 2003–2006 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. BMI z scores (zBMI) (n  = 3,161) and MetS (n  = 1,379) were calculated using age‐ and sex‐specific criteria for adolescents. TV viewing (h/day) was measured via a self‐reported questionnaire, and dietary intake was assessed using two 24‐h recalls. Using the MacKinnon method, a series of mediation analyses were conducted examining five dietary mediators (total energy intake, fruit and vegetable intake, discretionary snacks, sugar‐sweetened beverages and diet quality) of the relationships between TV viewing and zBMI and MetS. Results Small positive relationships were observed between TV viewing and zBMI (β = 0.99, p  < 0.001) and TV viewing and MetS (OR = 1.18, p  = 0.046). No dietary element appeared to mediate the relationship between TV viewing and zBMI. However, sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption and fruit and vegetable intake partially mediated the relationship between TV viewing and MetS, explaining 8.7% and 4.1% of the relationship, respectively. Conclusions These findings highlight the complexity of the relationships between TV viewing, dietary intake and cardiometabolic health outcomes, and that TV viewing should remain a target for interventions

The social genome of friends and schoolmates in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

Our study reported significant findings of a “social genome” that can be quantified and studied to understand human health and behavior. In a national sample of more than 5,000 American adolescents, we found evidence of social forces that act to make friends and schoolmates more genetically similar to one another compared with random pairs of unrelated individuals. This subtle genetic similarity was observed across the entire genome and at sets of genomic locations linked with specific traits—educational attainment and body mass index—a phenomenon we term “social–genetic correlation.” We also find evidence of a “social–genetic effect” such that the genetics of a person’s friends and schoolmates influenced their own education, even after accounting for the person’s own genetics

Assessment of Hypertension Using Clinical Electrocardiogram Features: A First-Ever Review

Hypertension affects an estimated 1.4 billion people and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early diagnosis and intervention can potentially decrease cardiovascular events later in life. However, blood pressure (BP) measurements take time and require training for health care professionals. The measurements are also inconvenient for patients to access, numerous daily variables affect BP values, and only a few BP readings can be collected per session. This leads to an unmet need for an accurate, 24-h continuous, and portable BP measurement system. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) have been considered as an alternative way to measure BP and may meet this need. This review summarizes the literature published from January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2020, on the use of only ECG wave morphology to monitor BP or identify hypertension. From 35 articles analyzed (9 of those with no listed comorbidities and confounders), the P wave, QTc intervals and TpTe intervals may be promising for this purpose. Unfortunately, with the limited number of articles and the variety of participant populations, we are unable to make conclusions about the effectiveness of ECG-only BP monitoring. We provide 13 recommendations for future ECG-only BP monitoring studies and highlight the limited findings in pregnant and pediatric populations. With the advent of convenient and portable ECG signal recording in smart devices and wearables such as watches, understanding how to apply ECG-only findings to identify hypertension early is crucial to improving health outcomes worldwide