Adding Insult to Injury? The Untoward Impact of Requiring More than De Minimus Injury in an Eighth Amendment Excessive Force Case

This Note explores the conflict over whether a prisoner must suffer more than de minimis injury to sustain an Eighth Amendment excessive force claim. It examines this conflict against the backdrop of the various standards the U.S. Supreme Court adopted in its Eighth Amendment prison conditions jurisprudence between 1976 and 1992, principally focusing on the 1992 Hudson v. McMillian decision. Moreover, this Note considers the intersection of “the evolving standards of decency,” the “hands-off doctrine,” and the Eighth Amendment injury requirement. Ultimately, this Note advocates that excessive force—when meted out as punishment—violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment regardless of whether a prisoner’s injuries are more than de minimis

A Look at Women and Abortion in the United States

The issue of abortion is defined by ethical questions and, often, controversial views. This paper argues the importance of a coherent and enhanced effort to study the quantitative relationship between women’s characteristics and the average number of abortions in the United States. It specifically looks at the average number of previous abortions and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, as this relationship has not been explored before in the existing literature. We expect to establish a correlation between the average number of previous abortions and characteristics such as age, marital status, income and highest degree of education completed. An empirical model is developed, and then studied using regression analysis. Even though this study has limitations stemming from the nature of the data and the methodology employed, it illustrates that variables such as age, marital status, religion and education, employment status, income, and metropolitan status do influence the number of previous abortions a woman has had. The broader implications of this study suggest that the issue of abortion should be addressed with a clear focus on the most interested party, namely, women

Data-Driven Change in Oregon Psychologists’ Knowledge and Attitudes about Prescriptive Authority

With over half of all states having considered legislating prescriptive authority, an immense amount of time and money has been invested. The literature is limited in terms of understanding if opinions toward prescriptive authority are grounded in knowledge and what implications that has for altering these opinions. Following a veto of a prescriptive authority bill in Oregon, 160 licensed Oregon clinical psychologists were surveyed regarding their attitudes and knowledge. In terms of knowledge, only 5.6% knew which three states/territories currently have prescriptive authority and 70.4% were unfamiliar with any of the prerequisites for postdoctoral training in psychopharmacology. Reflecting division, 42.8% were in favor, 20.1% were undecided, and 37.1% were in opposition to broadening privileges for psychologists. Further, only 15.1% expressed interest in pursuing training or 6.4% in becoming a prescriber. Data on access, training, and legislative costs were presented to participants in the education condition. These participants showed significant gains in their knowledge across all domains and their opinions shifted only in these specific areas leaving their general stance on the issue unchanged. In contrast to ardent supporters who argue that their “data should provide reassurance to psychologists spearheading legislative initiatives” because of high approval ratings (Sammons et al., 2000, p. 608), our data suggest disagreement amongst a group of professionals who are not particularly well-informed, nor interested in becoming prescribers. Future work should investigate whether expanding the data relevant to other facets of the argument contributes to further targeted change or an overall change in opinion toward prescriptive authority

Delivery of Academic Vocabulary in Third Grade Mathematics Instruction

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of vocabulary theorist R.J. Marzano’s Six Step Process when teaching academic vocabulary words in mathematics. Academic Vocabulary is defined as vocabulary that is specific to the content being taught in the classroom in order for the students to be successful. Fifteen, third grade students (nine girls, six boys) in an inclusive classroom participated in the action research study. The effectiveness of Marzano’s Six Step Process to teaching mathematical academic vocabulary instruction was measured with biweekly pre and post assessments of word definitions and content usage. The assessments were used to measure the students’ understanding of the academic mathematic vocabulary words selected. From the findings, it was concluded that students did benefit from R.J. Marzano’s Six Step Process to academic vocabulary instruction and demonstrated greater understanding of mathematical academic vocabulary words through assessments

The Madrileño ejke : a study of the perception and production of velarized /s/ in Madrid

Aspiration of coda /s/ has been widely studied throughout the Spanish-speaking world, although within the Madrid dialect there have only been two studies quantifying /s/ realization (Momcilovic, 2005; Turnham & Lafford, 1995). In the first, Turnham and Lafford (1995) examine the extralinguistic factors that condition /s/ realization, considering the nonstandard variants of velarized and elided /s/ in their analysis. In contrast, Momcilovic (2005) does not include the velarized /s/ as a specific category in her study, but rather quantifies rates of aspirated, elided and assimilated /s/. In this way, the actual variants present and their distribution within the Spanish of Madrid has not been clearly established. The velarized /s/, of particular interest in this dissertation, is distinct from most cases of /s/ weakening because it does not fit into the typological weaking paradigm of [s] > [h] > [ø], and furthermore may not be a case of lenition at all (Henriksen & Harper, 2016). Given the curious /s/ variant present in the Madrid dialect, the current investigation sought to learn more of the social meaning and perception of the velarized /s/, utilizing the matched guise language attitudes technique to do so. It is found that the velarized /s/ is a marker of Madrileño identity, and that it is mainly associated with negative connotations, most strongly observed among the Madrileño participants. This dissertation contributes the first language attitudes study conducted on /s/ in Madrid, revealing both the social meaning attached to velarized /s/ and the importance of the speakers’ social characteristics in their perception of this variant. Secondly, a production study was conducted in order to offer a clearer picture of the coda /s/ variants present in the Madrid dialect and their respective distribution. The significant factors found to condition /s/ realization include syllabic position, reading time, reading order and the number of Madrileño grandparents a speaker has. Most importantly here, it is seen that the aspirated variant actually appears more frequently than the velarized /s/. Together these studies contribute a greater understanding of velarized /s/, filling a lacuna in what was previously known of coda /s/ in the Madrid dialect.Spanish and Portugues

La alianza terapéutica en la terapia de aceptación y compromiso

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a process-based intervention that promotes psychological flexibility by implementing six core processes. These include acceptance and awareness as well values and behavior change processes. Still, the primary vehicle for implementing these processes is the therapeutic relationship. Underscoring the importance of the relationship is paramount – it is the context in which the interventions emerge, allowing the therapist to shape psychological flexibility directly. We argue that the therapeutic alliance (TA) is co-created and is a critical factor contributing to the effectiveness of ACT. This paper focuses on the TA as a vital part of ACT treatment. We discuss the therapeutic alliance from an ACT perspective, explore different roles in implementing ACT, and conclude with a clinical case illustration. We more specifically focus on how the TA alliance and the therapeutic relationship can be a vehicle of change in ACT.La Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso (ACT) es una intervención basada en procesos que promueve la flexibilidad psicológica implementando seis procesos centrales. Estos incluyen aceptación y conciencia como también procesos de valores y cambio conductuales. Sin embargo, el vehículo primario para implementar estas intervenciones es la relación terapéutica. En este trabajo discutimos que la Alianza Terapéutica (TA) es co-creada y es un factor crítico que contribuye a la efectividad de la implementación de ACT.  Este artículo se enfoca en la TA como una parte vital del tratamiento ACT. Desarrollamos la alianza terapéutica desde la perspectiva de ACT, exploramos los diferentes roles que ocupa en la implementación de ACT y concluimos con un ejemplo clínico. Mas específicamente mostramos cómo la alianza terapéutica y la relación terapéutica pueden ser un vehículo de cambio en ACT

Teaching Literacy: A Puzzle-Based Approach

In an effort to achieve stronger, curricular alignment and establish a more concrete relationship between literacy theory and instructional practice, curricular redesign within an undergraduate, literacy methods course commenced. With a clear rationale for why course redesign was necessary, a collective vision rooted with intention and focused on student learning drove the redesign process. After much thought and critical reflection, instructional planning was complete and the Model of the Complete, Literate Student was born. This research-based model holistically identifies ten puzzle pieces critical to one’s literacy development and ultimately, became the framework that anchored all course content. Course redesign was successful and yielded many benefits including: a meaningful showcase of literacy instruction and assessment; improved scaffolding to better support student learning; intentional, instructional planning; richer learning experiences for students; and, opportunities for professional collaboration. While course redesign is complete, the appropriate next step would be to closely examine students’ perceptions of the redesigned course, as well as the effectiveness of the model to further support student learning

Modelling the Effects of Habitat and Hosts on Tick Invasions

Many tick species are invading new areas because of anthropogenic changes in the landscape, shifting climatic variables and increasing populations of suitable host species and tick habitat. However, the relative influences of habitat and hosts in tick dispersal and tick population establishment remain in question. A spatially explicit agent-based model was developed to explore the spatio-temporal dynamics of a generic tick population in the years immediately following the introduction of ticks into a novel environment. The general model was then adapted to investigate a case study of two recent tick species invasions into the Mid-Atlantic United States. The recent simultaneous range expansions of two ixodid tick species, Ixodes affinis and Amblyomma maculatum, provided an opportunity to determine if invasion patterns observed in the field could be replicated in silico on a small scale. The models presented here indicated that for generalist parasites, habitat connectivity is a better indicator than host mobility for spatial and genetic patterns of parasite range expansion. In addition, our results demonstrate the utility of including genetic variables into agent-based models: gene flow functions as a proxy for measuring dispersal, and models can be validated using results from the field