”Lock ’em up and throw away the key”:vuoden 1994 rikoslain uudistus ja rikollisuus yhdysvaltalaisessa lehdistökeskustelussa

Tiivistelmä. Vuonna 1994 Yhdysvaltain presidentti Bill Clinton hyväksyi suuren rikoslain uudistuksen. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act sisälsi useita demokraattipuolueelle epätyypillisiä toimia, jotka tähtäsivät rikollisten ankarampaan kohteluun ja rangaistusten lisäämiseen. Rikoslain uudistuksesta käytiin paljon keskustelua amerikkalaisten lehtien palstoilla vuosina 1993–1994, kun lain valmistelu oli käynnissä. Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma käsittelee vuoden 1994 rikoslain uudistuksesta lehdistössä käytyä keskustelua. Tutkimuksen lähdeaineistona toimivat aiheesta julkaistut mielipidekirjoitukset, kolumnit, artikkelit ja pääkirjoitukset sanomalehdissä ja aikakauslehdissä. Aineisto koostuu itsensä liberaaleiksi tai konservatiivisiksi määrittelemistä sanoma- ja aikakauslehdistä, joissa on käyty keskustelua rikoslain sisällöistä ja rikospoliittisista teemoista. Tutkimus on aatehistoriallinen tutkimus ja siinä tarkastellaan, miten kirjoituksissa otetaan kantaa rikoslain uudistukseen ja lakipaketin sisältöihin suhteessa 1990-luvun alussa valinneeseen poliittiseen ja yhteiskunnalliseen tilanteeseen. Tutkimusmetodeja ovat teemoittelu, lähiluku ja kontekstualisointi. Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma täydentää Yhdysvaltain rikospolitiikan tutkimuksen aatehistoriallista näkökulmaa. Tutkimuksen keskeiset tulokset rakentuvat liberaali- ja konservatiivilehdistön näkemyserojen ympärille. Liberaalilehdistö nosti keskusteluun lakiuudistuksen ongelmia. Liberaalikirjoittajat olivat huolissaan lakiuudistuksen mahdollisuuksista torjua tai vähentää rikollisuutta ja sen pelättiin kasvattavan vankimäärää entisestään. Konservatiivikirjoittajat taas näkivät vankilat välineenä vaarallisten yksilöiden säilömiseen ja vankimäärän kasvua pidettiin tästä luonnollisena seurauksena. Usko rikollisten kuntoutumiseen yhteiskuntakelpoiseksi oli konservatiivikirjoittajien keskuudessa heikko eikä valtion mahdollisuuksiin torjua rikollisuutta luotettu. Rikollisuuskeskustelu oli 1990-luvun alussa osa kulttuurisotia, joita liberaalit ja konservatiivit kävivät amerikkalaisesta moraalista ja arvoista. Konservatiivilehdistössä rikollisuus nähtiin amerikkalaisen yhteiskunnan ja moraalin rappeutumisena ja perinteisten arvojen kuihtumisena. Kulttuurisodan vastapuolena pidettiin vasemmistoliberaalia eliittiä, intellektuelleja tai tiedeyhteisöä, joka jätti tavallisen amerikkalaisen huolet huomiotta

Light scattering by the Martian dust analog, palagonite, modeled with ellipsoids

We have investigated the suitability of the ellipsoidal model particles to mimic scattering by Martian dust particles by comparing simulations against laboratory data for palagonite, a Mars analog sample. By optimizing the shape distribution of ellipsoids, a very good match with a laboratory-measured scattering matrix was obtained. Even an equiprobable distribution of ellipsoids performed well. The asymmetry parameter and single-scattering albedo were found to depend on the assumed shape distribution as much as on the typical uncertainties associated with refractive indices and size, suggesting that shape is an important parameter that potentially influences remote retrievals of dust particle properties

High frequency of TTK mutations in microsatellite-unstable colorectal cancer and evaluation of their effect on spindle assembly checkpoint

Frameshift mutations frequently accumulate in microsatellite-unstable colorectal cancers (MSI CRCs) typically leading to downregulation of the target genes due to nonsense-mediated messenger RNA decay. However, frameshift mutations that occur in the 3' end of the coding regions can escape decay, which has largely been ignored in previous works. In this study, we characterized nonsense-mediated decay-escaping frameshift mutations in MSI CRC in an unbiased, genome wide manner. Combining bioinformatic search with expression profiling, we identified genes that were predicted to escape decay after a deletion in a microsatellite repeat. These repeats, located in 258 genes, were initially sequenced in 30 MSI CRC samples. The mitotic checkpoint kinase TTK was found to harbor decay-escaping heterozygous mutations in exon 22 in 59% (105/179) of MSI CRCs, which is notably more than previously reported. Additional novel deletions were found in exon 5, raising the mutation frequency to 66%. The exon 22 of TTK contains an A(9)-G(4)-A(7) locus, in which the most common mutation was a mononucleotide deletion in the A(9) (c.2560delA). When compared with identical non-coding repeats, TTK was found to be mutated significantly more often than expected without selective advantage. Since TTK inhibition is known to induce override of the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), we challenged mutated cancer cells with the microtubule-stabilizing drug paclitaxel. No evidence of checkpoint weakening was observed. As a conclusion, heterozygous TTK mutations occur at a high frequency in MSI CRCs. Unexpectedly, the plausible selective advantage in tumourigenesis does not appear to be related to SAC

Toward on-sky adaptive optics control using reinforcement learning Model-based policy optimization for adaptive optics

Context. The direct imaging of potentially habitable exoplanets is one prime science case for the next generation of high contrast imaging instruments on ground-based, extremely large telescopes. To reach this demanding science goal, the instruments are equipped with eXtreme Adaptive Optics (XAO) systems which will control thousands of actuators at a framerate of kilohertz to several kilohertz. Most of the habitable exoplanets are located at small angular separations from their host stars, where the current control laws of XAO systems leave strong residuals. Aims. Current AO control strategies such as static matrix-based wavefront reconstruction and integrator control suffer from a temporal delay error and are sensitive to mis-registration, that is, to dynamic variations of the control system geometry. We aim to produce control methods that cope with these limitations, provide a significantly improved AO correction, and, therefore, reduce the residual flux in the coronagraphic point spread function (PSF). Methods. We extend previous work in reinforcement learning for AO. The improved method, called the Policy Optimization for Adaptive Optics (PO4AO), learns a dynamics model and optimizes a control neural network, called a policy. We introduce the method and study it through numerical simulations of XAO with Pyramid wavefront sensor (PWFS) for the 8-m and 40-m telescope aperture cases. We further implemented PO4AO and carried out experiments in a laboratory environment using Magellan Adaptive Optics eXtreme system (MagAO-X) at the Steward laboratory. Results. PO4AO provides the desired performance by improving the coronagraphic contrast in numerical simulations by factors of 3-5 within the control region of deformable mirror and PWFS, both in simulation and in the laboratory. The presented method is also quick to train, that is, on timescales of typically 5-10 s, and the inference time is sufficiently small (Peer reviewe

Toward on-sky adaptive optics control using reinforcement learning Model-based policy optimization for adaptive optics

Context. The direct imaging of potentially habitable exoplanets is one prime science case for the next generation of high contrast imaging instruments on ground-based, extremely large telescopes. To reach this demanding science goal, the instruments are equipped with eXtreme Adaptive Optics (XAO) systems which will control thousands of actuators at a framerate of kilohertz to several kilohertz. Most of the habitable exoplanets are located at small angular separations from their host stars, where the current control laws of XAO systems leave strong residuals. Aims. Current AO control strategies such as static matrix-based wavefront reconstruction and integrator control suffer from a temporal delay error and are sensitive to mis-registration, that is, to dynamic variations of the control system geometry. We aim to produce control methods that cope with these limitations, provide a significantly improved AO correction, and, therefore, reduce the residual flux in the coronagraphic point spread function (PSF). Methods. We extend previous work in reinforcement learning for AO. The improved method, called the Policy Optimization for Adaptive Optics (PO4AO), learns a dynamics model and optimizes a control neural network, called a policy. We introduce the method and study it through numerical simulations of XAO with Pyramid wavefront sensor (PWFS) for the 8-m and 40-m telescope aperture cases. We further implemented PO4AO and carried out experiments in a laboratory environment using Magellan Adaptive Optics eXtreme system (MagAO-X) at the Steward laboratory. Results. PO4AO provides the desired performance by improving the coronagraphic contrast in numerical simulations by factors of 3-5 within the control region of deformable mirror and PWFS, both in simulation and in the laboratory. The presented method is also quick to train, that is, on timescales of typically 5-10 s, and the inference time is sufficiently small (Peer reviewe

Instructional multimedia: An investigation of student and instructor attitudes and student study behavior

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Educators in allied health and medical education programs utilize instructional multimedia to facilitate psychomotor skill acquisition in students. This study examines the effects of instructional multimedia on student and instructor attitudes and student study behavior.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subjects consisted of 45 student physical therapists from two universities. Two skill sets were taught during the course of the study. Skill set one consisted of knee examination techniques and skill set two consisted of ankle/foot examination techniques. For each skill set, subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group. The control group was taught with live demonstration of the examination skills, while the experimental group was taught using multimedia. A cross-over design was utilized so that subjects in the control group for skill set one served as the experimental group for skill set two, and vice versa. During the last week of the study, students and instructors completed written questionnaires to assess attitude toward teaching methods, and students answered questions regarding study behavior.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no differences between the two instructional groups in attitudes, but students in the experimental group for skill set two reported greater study time alone compared to other groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Multimedia provides an efficient method to teach psychomotor skills to students entering the health professions. Both students and instructors identified advantages and disadvantages for both instructional techniques. Reponses relative to instructional multimedia emphasized efficiency, processing level, autonomy, and detail of instruction compared to live presentation. Students and instructors identified conflicting views of instructional detail and control of the content.</p

Gendered and Social Hierarchies in Problem Representation and Policy Processes: ‘Domestic Violence’ in Finland and Scotland

This article identifies and critiques presumptions about gender and violence that continue to frame and inform the processes of policy formation and implementation on domestic violence. It also deconstructs the agendered nature of policy as gendered, multilevel individual and collective action. Drawing on comparative illustrative material from Finland and Scotland, we discuss how national policies and discourses emphasize physical forms of violence, place the onus on the agency of women, and encourage a narrow conceptualization of violence in relationships. The two countries do this in somewhat comparable, though different ways operating within distinct national gender contexts.The complex interweaving of masculinities, violence, and cultures, although recognized in many debates, is seemingly marginalized from dominant discourses, policy, and legal processes. Despite growth in critical studies on men, there is little attempt made to problematize the gendered nature of violence. Rather, policy and service outcomes reflect processes through which individualized and masculine discourses frame ideas, discourses, and policy work. Women experiencing violence are constructed as victims and potential survivors of violence, although the social and gendered hierarchies evident in policies and services result in longer-term inequities and suffering for women and their dependents