The Effects of Expectancy Disconfirmation on Outcome Satisfaction in Police-Citizen Encounters

This study tests the expectancy disconfirmation model using survey data from citizens who recently had police encounters. We find support for the expectancy disconfirmation model\u27s primary hypothesis that increased disparity between expectations of police performance and actual service inversely affects citizen satisfaction with the way the police handle encounters. This finding persists for both voluntary (e.g. breaking and entering victims) and involuntary (e.g. traffic citations) police encounters. Our results also suggest that the scope of the expectancy disconfirmation model is limited. For example, the disparity between expectations and actual service is not correlated with citizen satisfaction with the police in general. Overall, the results show that the expectancy disconfirmation model is useful in that it provides conceptual guidance in an area of research that has been relatively void of theory, and can also help identify needed changes in police practices

Postopkovna pravičnost, legitimnost policijske dejavnosti in pripravljenost mladih ljudi za sodelovanje s policijo v Sloveniji

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test various research hypotheses derived from the process-based model of policing. More specifically, the effect of procedural justice judgments on perceived police legitimacy is empirically scrutinized. The influence of police legitimacy on a variety of forms of public cooperation with police is also adjudicated. Design/Methods/Approach: This study tests process-based model hypotheses using cross-sectional data from pencil-and-paper surveys administered to 683 individuals 18 years and older who were enrolled in 6 high schools located in Maribor and Ljubljana, Slovenia. A series of linear regression equations are estimated for purposes of hypothesis testing. Findings: The regression analyses show that procedural justice is a strong correlate of police legitimacy, and that the latter influences public cooperation, net of police effectiveness. However, when the public cooperation scale is disaggregated, the effect of police legitimacy varies across different cooperation outcomes. When the police legitimacy scale is disaggregated into its component parts, only the effect of trust in police is statistically significant. The impact of obligation to obey on public cooperation with police is effectively zero. Research Limitations/Implications: Future process-based model research should not only assess the effects of the different dimensions of police legitimacy (i.e., obligation to obey and trust in police), but also test the impact of police legitimacy on disaggregated public cooperation with police measures. Doing otherwise increases the risk of masking differential effects. Practical Implications: Results from this study underscore the utility of process-based policing practices. Police officials in Slovenia and elsewhere should seriously consider seeking out and/or developing training curricula that teach and promote fair and just practices. Originality/Value: This study extends prior research in two important ways. First, this study contributes to a small but growing body of literature that tests process-based model hypotheses in research settings outside the United States. Second, this study evaluates the effect of police legitimacy on different forms of public cooperation with police and ideas for further research.Namen prispevka: Namen te študije je preverjanje raziskovalnih hipotez, ki izhajajo iz modela postopkovne pravičnosti policijskega dela. Gre za empirično preverjanje učinka mnenj o postopkovni pravičnosti na zaznano legitimnost policijskega dela. Študija obravnava tudi vpliv zaznave legitimnosti policijskega dela na različne oblike sodelovanja javnosti s policijo. Metode: Na podlagi podatkov, ki smo jih zbrali jeseni 2011 z metodo anketiranja na vzorcu 683 dijakov četrtih letnikov s šestih slovenskih srednjih šol v Ljubljani in Mariboru, starih 18 let in več, smo z linearnimi regresijskimi izračuni preverjali hipoteze v zvezi s postopkovno pravičnostjo. Ugotovitve: Rezultati regresijske analize kažejo, da je postopkovna pravičnost v močni korelaciji z legitimnostjo policijskega dela, pri čemer je najpomembnejša ugotovitev, da zaznava legitimnosti policijske dejavnosti vpliva na sodelovanje z javnostjo in prepričanje o učinkovitosti policijske dejavnosti. Ko faktor sodelovanje z javnostjo razčlenimo, učinek legitimnosti policijskega dela variira glede na različne oblike sodelovanja. Razčlenjen faktor legitimnosti policijskega dela pokaže, da je statistično pomemben edino učinek zaupanja v policijo. Vpliv prepričanja o dolžnosti ljudi za upoštevanje pravil (zakonov) na sodelovanje javnosti s policijo ne obstaja. Omejitve/uporabnost raziskave: V prihodnje bi bilo potrebno v raziskavah o postopkovni pravičnosti policijske dejavnosti, poleg ocenjevanja učinkov različnih dimenzij legitimnosti policijskega dela (npr. dolžnost upoštevanja in zaupanje v policijo), preverjati tudi vpliv legitimnosti policijskega dela na sodelovanje z javnostjo skupaj s policijskimi ukrepi. Praktična uporabnost: Rezultati te študije poudarjajo pomembnost policijskih postopkov na oblikovanje stališč ljudi do policije in pripravljenost za sodelovanje s policijo pri preiskovanju kaznivih dejanj ter podporo pri drugih policijskih dejavnostih. Rezultati raziskave kažejo na pomembnost vključevanja vsebin s področja postopkovne pravičnosti in legitimnosti v programe usposabljanj in izobraževanja policistov. Izvirnost/pomembnost prispevka: Študija razširja predhodno raziskovalno delo na dva pomembna načina. Prvič, prispeva k manjšemu, a naraščajočemu obsegu raziskav o preverjanju hipotez modela postopkovne pravičnosti v raziskovalnih okoljih zunaj Združenih držav Amerike. Drugič, ocenjuje vpliv legitimnosti policijskega dela na različne oblike sodelovanja javnosti s policijo v Sloveniji in ponuja izhodišča za novo raziskovanje

The Disutility of Injustice

For more than half a century, the retributivists and the crime-control instrumentalists have seen themselves as being in an irresolvable conflict. Social science increasingly suggests, however, that this need not be so. Doing justice may be the most effective means of controlling crime. Perhaps partially in recognition of these developments, the American Law Institute\u27s recent amendment to the Model Penal Code\u27s purposes provision – the only amendment to the Model Code in the 47 years since its promulgation – adopts desert as the primary distributive principle for criminal liability and punishment. That shift to desert has prompted concerns by two groups – ironically, two groups traditionally opposed to one another. The first group – those concerned with what they see as the over-punitiveness of current criminal law – worries that setting desert as the dominant distributive principle means continuing the punitive doctrines they find so objectionable, and perhaps will make things worse. The second group – those concerned with ensuring effective crime control – worries that a shift to desert will create many missed crime-control opportunities; it will increase avoidable crime. The first group\u27s concern about over-punitiveness rests upon an assumption that the current punitive crime-control doctrines of which they disapprove are a reflection of the community\u27s naturally punitive intuitions of justice. However, as Study 1 makes clear, today\u27s popular crime-control doctrines in fact seriously conflict with people\u27s intuitions of justice by exaggerating the punishment deserved. The second group\u27s concern that a desert principle will increase avoidable crime exemplifies the common wisdom of the past half century that ignoring justice in pursuit of crime-control through deterrence, incapacitation of the dangerous, and other such coercive crime-control programs is cost free. However, Studies 2 and 3 suggest that doing injustice has real crime control costs. Deviating from the community\u27s shared principles of justice undermines the system\u27s moral credibility and thereby undermines its ability to gain cooperation and compliance and to harness the powerful forces of social influence and internalized norms. The studies reported here give assurance to both groups. A shift to desert is not likely to either undermine the criminal justice system\u27s crime-control effectiveness, and indeed it may enhance it, nor is it likely to increase the system\u27s punitiveness, and indeed it may reduce it

Ultrasound-controlled cryoneurolysis for peripheral mononeuropathies: a retrospective cohort study.

Aim: Cryoneurolysis is a potential therapy for peripheral mononeuropathies, but randomized studies of its effects on the duration of pain reduction are lacking. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the analgesic effects of cryoneurolysis on patients with refractory peripheral mononeuropathy. We included 24 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided cryoneurolysis between June 2018 and July 2022. The daily maximum pain level was recorded using a numerical rating scale before and 1, 3 and 6 months after the procedure. Results: At 1 month, 54.2% of patients reported pain reduction of at least 30%. This percentage was significantly lower at 3 and 6 months (13.8 and 9.1%, respectively). Conclusion: Our results suggest that repeated cryoneurolysis may be a viable treatment for refractory mononeuropathy. Further investigations are needed

Acceptance, Satisfaction, and Preference With Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2021-2022: Survey Among Patients With Chronic Pain.

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many health care providers to make changes in their treatment, with telemedicine being expanded on a large scale. An earlier study investigated the acceptance of telephone calls but did not record satisfaction with treatment or patients' preferences. This warranted a follow-up study to investigate acceptance, satisfaction, and preferences regarding telemedicine, comprising of phone consultations, among health care recipients. OBJECTIVE The primary aim was to assess the acceptance and satisfaction of telemedicine during the subsequent months of 2021-2022, after the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. Furthermore, we aimed to assess patients' preferences and whether these differed in patients who had already experienced telemedicine in the past, as well as correlations between acceptance and satisfaction, pain intensity, general condition, perception of telemedicine, and catastrophizing. Finally, we aimed to investigate whether more governmental restrictions were correlated with higher acceptance. METHODS An anonymous cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted between January 27, 2021, and February 4, 2022, enrolling patients undergoing outpatient pain therapy in a tertiary university clinic. We conducted a descriptive analysis of acceptance and satisfaction with telemedicine and investigated patients' preferences. Further, we conducted a descriptive and correlational analysis of the COVID-19 stringency index. Spearman correlation analysis and a chi-square test for categorical data were used with Cramer V statistic to assess effect sizes. RESULTS Our survey was completed by 60 patients. Telemedicine acceptance and satisfaction were high, with an average score of 7.6 (SD 3.3; on an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale from 0=not at all to 10=completely), and 8.8 (SD 1.8), respectively. Respondents generally preferred on-site consultations to telemedicine (n=35, 58% vs n=24, 40%). A subgroup analysis revealed that respondents who already had received phone consultation, showed a higher preference for telemedicine (n/N=21/42, 50% vs n/N=3/18, 17%; χ22 [N=60]=7.5, P=.02, Cramer V=0.354), as well as those who had been treated for more than 3 months (n/N=17/31, 55% vs n/N=7/29, 24%; χ22 [N=60]=6.5, P=.04, Cramer V=0.329). Acceptance of telemedicine showed a moderate positive correlation with satisfaction (rs{58}=0.41, P<.05), but there were no correlations between the COVID-19 stringency index and the other variables. CONCLUSIONS Despite high acceptance of and satisfaction with telemedicine, patients preferred on-site consultations. Preference for telemedicine was markedly higher in patients who had already received phone consultations or had been treated for longer than 3 months. This highlights the need to convey knowledge of eHealth services to patients and the value of building meaningful relationships with patients at the beginning of treatment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the modality of patient care should be discussed individually

Strategic School Improvement Fund: updated 12 September 2017

<p><b>Comparison of MRI (A and B) with histological findings (C).</b> The lateral tibia plateau region of the sham knee joint of animal #8958 showed no salience neither in the sagittal MRI-scan (A) through the lateral compartment of the knee nor in the coronal MRI-scan (B) and was therefore rated as unchanged. The scale bars for A and B were determined with the program RadiAnt DICOM viewer (see caption <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0165897#pone.0165897.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a>). In contrast to the MRI results, the histological safranin-o staining (C) showed a moderate degeneration (Little-score: 10.5 points) with a fissure (1) in the cartilage and detachment of the topmost layer of the cartilage tissue. The histological finding and the MRI result did not concur.</p

Extended Sentinel Monitoring of Helicoverpa zea Resistance to Cry and Vip3Aa Toxins in Bt Sweet Corn: Assessing Changes in Phenotypic and Allele Frequencies of Resistance

Transgenic corn and cotton that produce Cry and Vip3Aa toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely planted in the United States to control lepidopteran pests. The sustainability of these Bt crops is threatened because the corn earworm/bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is evolving a resistance to these toxins. Using Bt sweet corn as a sentinel plant to monitor the evolution of resistance, collaborators established 146 trials in twenty-five states and five Canadian provinces during 2020–2022. The study evaluated overall changes in the phenotypic frequency of resistance (the ratio of larval densities in Bt ears relative to densities in non-Bt ears) in H. zea populations and the range of resistance allele frequencies for Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa. The results revealed a widespread resistance to Cry1Ab, Cry2Ab2, and Cry1A.105 Cry toxins, with higher numbers of larvae surviving in Bt ears than in non-Bt ears at many trial locations. Depending on assumptions about the inheritance of resistance, allele frequencies for Cry1Ab ranged from 0.465 (dominant resistance) to 0.995 (recessive resistance). Although Vip3Aa provided high control efficacy against H. zea, the results show a notable increase in ear damage and a number of surviving older larvae, particularly at southern locations. Assuming recessive resistance, the estimated resistance allele frequencies for Vip3Aa ranged from 0.115 in the Gulf states to 0.032 at more northern locations. These findings indicate that better resistance management practices are urgently needed to sustain efficacy the of corn and cotton that produce Vip3Aa

Contributions from the DISC to accomplish the Aeolus mission objectives

The Aeolus Data Innovation and Science Cluster (DISC) supports the Aeolus mission with a wide range of activities from instrument and product quality monitoring over retrieval algorithm improvements to numerical weather prediction (NWP) impact assessments for wind and aerosols. The Aeolus DISC provides support to ESA, Cal/Val teams, numerical weather prediction (NWP) centers, and scientific users for instrument special operations and calibration, for the re-processing of Aeolus products from the past and through the provision of bi-annual updates of the L1A, L1B, L2A and L2B operational processors. The Aeolus DISC is coordinated by DLR with partners from ECMWF, KNMI, Météo-France, TROPOS, DoRIT, ABB, s&t, serco, OLA, Physics Solutions, IB Reissig and Les Myriades involving more than 40 scientists and engineers. The presentation will highlight the Aeolus DISC activities with a focus for the year 2021 and early 2022 since the last Aeolus workshop in November 2020. This covers the evolution of the instrument performance including investigations of the cause of the on-going signal loss and the achieved improvement via dedicated laser tests in 2021. In addition, refinements of algorithms and correction of the wind bias will be discussed - including a known remaining seasonal bias in October and March as encountered during the re-processing campaigns. Finally, the strategy for the on-going and future re-processing campaigns will be addressed to inform the scientific community about the availability and quality of the re-processed data products. The Aeolus mission has fully achieved its mission objectives including the unprecedented demonstration of direct-detection Doppler wind lidar technology and high-power laser operation in space in the ultraviolet spectral region over its planned full mission lifetime of 3 years and 3 months. Aeolus wind products have clearly demonstrated positive impact on forecasts using several NWP models. Since early 2020, and thus only 1.5 years after launch, the Aeolus wind products are used in operation at various NWP centers worldwide. This was achieved even despite the larger than expected wind random errors due to lower initial atmospheric signal levels and the observed signal losses during the operation of the first and second laser. In addition to this incredible success, first scientific studies demonstrated the use of Aeolus for atmospheric dynamics research in the stratosphere and for the analysis of aerosol transport. These achievements of the Aeolus mission and its success were only possible with the essential and critical contributions from the Aeolus DISC. This demonstrates the need and potential for setting up such scientific consortia covering a wide range of expertise from instrument, processors, and scientific use of products for Earth Explorer type missions. The invaluable experience gained by the Aeolus DISC during the more then 3 years of Aeolus mission in orbit (preceded by a period of 20 years before launch by a similar study team) is a pre-requisite for a successful preparation of an operational follow-on Aeolus-2 mission