Sharing Knowledge, Shifting Power: A Case Study of “Rebellious” Legal Design During COVID-19

Communicating legal concepts requires creativity and community-informed design, even— especially—when disaster strikes. In this article, we examine a theory of legal information design rooted in anti-subordination and share insights from our efforts to co-design visual resources with underserved Florida communities during COVID-19

The Relationship between Aerobic Test Performance and Injuries in Police Recruits

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(4): 1052-1062, 2020. Lower levels of fitness are associated with an increased risk of injury in police recruits. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between initial aerobic performance assessments and injury risk during police recruit training. Retrospective data from 219 police recruits undergoing training program at a state police training academy, including 20-m Multistage Fitness Test (MSFT) and 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (IFT) scores and injury data, were collected. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between levels of fitness (MSFT rs = - 0.292, p \u3c 0.001: 30-15 IFT rs=- 0.315, p \u3c 0.001) and rates of injury. Furthermore, a Pearson’s correlation showed a strong correlation between MSFT and the 30-15 IFT scores (r = 0.877, p \u3c 0.001). Police recruits with lower fitness were at a higher risk of injury than those with higher fitness over the duration of a recruit training program. These findings indicate that aerobic performance assessments may be used by law enforcement agencies to estimate the relative risks of injury among cadets

Job-Specific Physical Fitness Changes Measured by the Work Sample Test Battery within Deputy Sheriffs between Training Academy and their First Patrol Assignment

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(4): 1262-1274, 2020. Deputy Sheriffs need to exhibit job-specific fitness throughout their occupational lifespan. This study evaluated job-specific fitness changes measured by the Work Sample Test Battery (WSTB) in deputy sheriffs from training academy to patrol school (refresher program completed before first patrol assignment). WSTB data for 34 deputy sheriffs (28 males, 6 females) was retrospectively analyzed. The WSTB included five tests: a 99-yard obstacle course (99OC); a 165-pound body drag (BD); 6-foot chain link fence (CLF) and solid wall (SW) climbs; and a 500-yard run (500R). WSTB task times measured at the end of academy and start of patrol school were compared by paired samples t-tests, percentage change, and effect sizes (all deputy sheriffs combined and by sex). When data for all deputy sheriffs was combined, there were significant time increases for the WSTB tasks at patrol school (p ≤ 0.009; d = 0.45-1.67), except for the BD (p \u3c 0.001; d = 0.80). Male deputy sheriffs exhibited the same changes (p ≤ 0.042, d = 0.40-2.37), with very large CLF and SW decrements (34-83%). Females experienced a significant decline in the 99OC (p = 0.013; d = 0.79), and non-significant declines in all other tasks (p ≤ 0.324; d = 0.50-0.96). Apart from the BD for male deputy sheriffs, job-specific fitness measured by the WSTB declined when deputy sheriffs went on their first patrol assignment. The ability to perform obstacle clearance (CLF, SW) and foot pursuit tasks (99OC, 500R) was particularly reduced. Intervention strategies to aid job-specific fitness maintenance is recommended for deputy sheriffs

The Impact of Formal Strength and Conditioning on the Fitness of Law Enforcement Recruits: A Retrospective Cohort Study

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(4): 1615-1629, 2020. Research involving law enforcement populations has suggested better fitness could enhance job task performance and reduce injuries. Academy training should lead to improvements in recruit fitness. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a strength and conditioning program on fitness among law enforcement recruits. Twenty-six recruits (23 males, three females) completed a 27-week academy, which incorporated 3-4 physical training sessions per week. Fitness assessment occurred during pre- (week 0), mid- (week 14), and post-testing (week 27) time points. The fitness assessments included: vertical jump, one-minute push-ups, one-minute sit-ups, posterior chain strength measured by a leg/back dynamometer, grip strength, and aerobic fitness measured by the 20-m multistage shuttle run (MSR). A repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc tests determined any significant changes in fitness between time points, with alpha set at p \u3c .05. Due to the small sample size of females, statistical analysis was only conducted on male recruits. Overall, significant main effects (p \u3c .001) were observed in all fitness assessments except for grip strength. The results detailed general improvements in fitness. However, push-up and MSR scores decreased from mid- to post-test, while sit-ups did not change. Posterior chain strength and the vertical jump improved from mid- to post-test. The data indicated that the strength and conditioning program positively influenced the fitness of recruits. An increased focus on skill-specific work in the second-half of academy may have contributed to the plateaus in muscular endurance and aerobic fitness, and improvement of lower-body strength and power

Short-Eared Owl Land-Use Associations During the Breeding Season in the Western United States

The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of conservation concern in the western USA, with evidence for declining population sizes. Monitoring of Short-eared Owls is complicated because of their low site fidelity and nomadic movements. We recruited community-science participants to implement a multi-year survey of Short-eared Owls across eight states in the western USA, resulting in a program of sufficient temporal and spatial dimensions to overcome many of the challenges in monitoring this species. We implemented both multi-scale occupancy and colonization/extinction modeling to provide insights into land-cover use, and to identify which cover types supported higher occurrence. Short-eared Owls were associated with native and anthropogenic land-cover types, but site occupancy varied among these categories and at different scales. Native grasslands, marsh/riparian, hay/fallow agriculture, and cultivated croplands were occupied most consistently across years. Occupancy rates differed at different scales (e.g., marsh/ riparian was the only land-cover type positively associated with occupancy at both transect and point scales). Contrary to expectations, native shrubland was negatively associated with occupancy at the point scale, and exhibited low colonization and high extinction rates. Our results suggest that conserving native landscapes in general, and grasslands, marsh, and riparian areas specifically, would benefit Short-eared Owls. Furthermore, Short-eared Owl occupancy was positively associated with hay/fallow land-cover types, suggesting that some nonnative land-cover types can function as Short-eared Owl habitat. Lastly, our results highlight how developing a broad-scale community science survey can inform conservation for a species not well monitored by existing survey programs

Water soluble, cyclometalated Pt(II)–Ln(III) conjugates towards novel bimodal imaging agents

Facile conjugation of a luminescent cyclometalated PtII complex with a DO3A-derived GdIII moiety yields a hybrid species with visible luminescence and enhanced relaxivity