Theoretical and empirical limits of Scandinavian Exceptionalism: Isolation and normalization in Danish prisons

Drawing on interviews with 76 prisoners, 47 prison staff, and 14 experts, we document lived experiences of punishment in the Danish prison context. We argue that, regardless of “humanizing” elements of normalization and humanity, prisoners and staff may experience the power of the carceral state in Denmark in ways similar to those under more obviously harsh confinement regimes, as exist in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom. Ultimately, macro-level theories like Scandinavian Exceptionalism serve as a rhetorical tool, implying that harsher prison systems are fixable, but fail to reflect the micro-level realities of incarceration

California Charter School Closures: Perspectives and Advice from Nine Former Charter School Directors

Charter schools have been categorized as everyone\u27s reform (Bracey, 2004); they are a type of public school, first established in 1992, that normally has fewer restrictions than most public schools and that serves a student body that, in many circumstances, has consciously opted to attend the school. Charter schools have promised high student achievement and program options that would create healthy competition in the American educational market. Currently, in California alone, there are approximately 800 active charter schools that serve more than 340,000 pupils. As we close in on nearly twenty years of charter school reform, many charter schools could be considered successful. Every year, however, some have their charters either revoked or not renewed due to a variety of reasons including deficiencies in academic programming, poor student achievement, or improper fiscal mismanagement. According to the California Department of Education (2010), twenty-five percent of the 1,152 charter schools that have opened in California since 1992 have closed permanently, with more than forty closings due to charter revocation. To date, however, there has been very little research on charter school closures. This qualitative study attempted to (a) determine which types of California charter schools have closed, (b) discover the reasons the schools\u27 former leaders give for the closures, as well as compare official reasons for closure with the schools\u27 former leaders stated reasons for closure, and (c) solicit any advice the former leaders would offer others wanting to begin, or continue to successfully operate, a charter school. Reasons the former directors gave for their schools\u27 closures included: (a) conflict with their sponsoring agent, (b) a negative relationship with their superintendent, (c) problems with facilities, (d) financial problems, (e) working ineffectively with a business partner, and (f) perceived unethical behavior by a business partner. Advice offered by these directors included the importance of securing and controlling finances at the site level, developing and maintaining collaborative relationships with sponsoring agents, beginning a charter school with a specific vision, not allowing a business entity to operate a charter school, and maintaining a high level of energy and enthusiasm

Concomitant Adolescent Vaccination in the U.S., 2007–2012

Concomitant (same-day) delivery of two or more vaccines to adolescents is effective, safe, and efficient. Increasing concomitant vaccination could improve coverage for recommended adolescent vaccines, but little is known about who receives vaccines concomitantly

Mobilization of seed storage lipid by Arabidopsis seedlings is retarded in the presence of exogenous sugars

BACKGROUND: Soluble sugar levels must be closely regulated in germinating seeds to ensure an adequate supply of energy and building materials for the developing seedling. Studies on germinating cereal seeds indicate that production of sugars from starch is inhibited by increasing sugar levels. Although numerous studies have focused on the regulation of starch metabolism, very few studies have addressed the control of storage lipid metabolism by germinating oilseeds. RESULTS: Mobilization of storage lipid by germinating seeds of the model oilseed plant Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. occurs at a greatly reduced rate in the presence of exogenous glucose or mannose, but not in the presence of equi-molar 3-O-methylglucose or sorbitol. The sugar-insensitive5-1/abscisic acid-insensitive4-101 (sis5-1/abi4-101) mutant is resistant to glucose inhibition of seed storage lipid mobilization. Wild-type seedlings become insensitive to glucose inhibition of storage lipid breakdown within 3 days of the start of imbibition. CONCLUSIONS: Growth in the presence of exogenous glucose significantly retards mobilization of seed storage lipid in germinating seeds from wild-type Arabidopsis. This effect is not solely due to the osmotic potential of the media, as substantially higher concentrations of sorbitol than of glucose are required to exert significant effects on lipid breakdown. The inhibitory effect of glucose on lipid breakdown is limited to a narrow developmental window, suggesting that completion of some critical metabolic transition results in loss of sensitivity to the inhibitory effect of glucose on lipid breakdown

Student Pharmacist Service-Learning in Western Kenya: The Implementation of Electronic Prescription Entry

Purdue pharmacy students implemented a project incorporating electronic prescription entry in a rural HIV clinic pharmacy in Kitale, Kenya. Students evaluated the impact of electronic pharmacy inventory management as well as the effects on patient wait time for prescriptions. Primary outcomes included accuracy and efficiency of Kenyan pharmacy staff prescription entry. At the end of the project, students found a decrease in prescription errors as well as an increase in the speed of entry. The Kenyan pharmacy staff had few computer skills, yet after three months of using the system, the staff had improved overall patient care as well as efficiency within their workplace. This project demonstrated the impact of a student-led service project

Use of the Mini-BESTest In Individuals with Peripheral Neuropathy: Does it Correlate with Falls and Sensory Loss?

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a neurological disorder that involves damage or disease of the peripheral nervous system associated with numbness, pain, weakness, and impaired balance. Individuals with PN often experience a distal to proximal progression of motor and sensory deficits such as loss of proprioception, muscle weakness, and loss of ankle reflexes. Since lower extremity proprioception plays a primary role in postural control, individuals with PN demonstrate difficulty maintaining balance, especially under conditions in which vision or vestibular input are also compromised. Clinically, the sensory deficits associated with PN are assessed using Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments and vibration testing. Additionally, the Mini-BESTest is a clinical performance measure that may be used to identify impaired dynamic balance and gait. The Mini-BESTest assesses anticipatory control, reactive postural control, sensory orientation, and dynamic gait. Although the Mini-BESTest has been found to be valid and reliable tool in persons with stroke and Parkinson’s disease, its use in individuals with PN remains to be explored.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dpt_symposium/1015/thumbnail.jp

Education and training in I-O Psychology: Leaving the Psychology tower: Nontraditional programs in I/O Psychology

The need for programs that accommodate diverse types of students and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the study of organizations has led universities with traditional I-O programs to also offer nontraditional programs. Nontraditional programs tend to attract highly heterogeneous sets of students in terms of age and academic and professional backgrounds or may be tailored for special types of students. Due to the mixed student population and high percentage of working adults, nontraditional programs tend to be more application and applied-research oriented than their traditional program counterparts. Faculty, students, and administrators of nontraditional programs face a variety of challenges. In this column, we explore and address these challenges based on our experiences in running and teaching in such programs. We hope this column will provide the impetus for open dialogue among I-O psychologist educators regarding how to diversify educational opportunities in I-O psychology

Commissioning MMS: Challenges and Lessons Learned

This paper discusses commissioning of NASA's Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) Mission. The mission includes four identical spacecraft with a large, complex set of instrumentation. The planning for and execution of commissioning for this mission is described. The paper concludes by discussing lessons learned