Contesting Victimhood: A Linguistic and Legal Anthropological Analysis of Defendant Experiences in New York’s Human Trafficking Intervention Courts

Human Trafficking Intervention Courts (HTICs) have been operating in New York City in an effort to connect victims of human trafficking to treatment programs. Unfortunately, the net that the courts cast was too wide and people who did not identify as victims of human trafficking were coerced into treatment programs that they did not need or want. Through textual discourse analysis and ethnographic observation, this paper explores the contestation of victimhood in HTICs by focusing on the experiences of defendants and how they are perceived by the police, judges, and other agents of the HTICs. Before entering the HTICs, defendants are perceived as criminals as shown by the justification and criteria for their arrest by the police. In the HTICs, defendants are no longer perceived as criminals, instead they are perceived as victims through the Presupposition of Victimhood. Decriminalizing perceptions of people who did not identify as victims of human trafficking was a step in the right direction, however, more work still needs to be done in order to recognize the agency of sex workers who have been caught up in the HTICs. The way that identity is created and mediated within the HTICs shows how ambiguity, inscribed in the perception of defendants as victims, operates as a barrier to the acceptance of sex worker agency. Underlying this ambiguity is an ideology of Exceptionalism which places the HTICs as the uniquely equipped saviors of defendants in need of their intervention

Classroom-based Conversation Analytic Research: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on Pedagogy

At the heart of Kunitz, Markee, and Sert’s (2021) edited volume is the question of how classroom interaction can contribute to second language acquisition. Using conversation analysis (CA) as a methodological tool to answer this question, the editors and contributing authors of this book also endeavor to package their findings in ways that are accessible for all kinds of language teaching professionals (e.g., pre- and in-service teachers, language program administrators, teacher supervisors, etc.). Their main argument for doing so hinges on the fact that research can sometimes occur in a vacuum, and that stakeholders need to develop a “consumers’ understanding” (p. 1) of how to translate findings from CA in order to inform curricular change

Pronunciation, Grammar, and Vocabulary Explanations in Pedagogical Interaction

This article reviews conversation analytic research on explanations in pedagogical interaction, particularly in language learning classrooms. In reviewing this literature, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive account of what is interactionally involved when giving pedagogical explanations so that future research investigating the effectiveness of these kinds of explanations can be appropriately measured. The paper first discusses characteristics of explanation as interactional phenomena, namely that they are sequentially organized, either planned or unplanned, and either monologically or dialogically organized. Then, the paper details how explanations in three particular linguistic domains (i.e., pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary) are accomplished interactionally. In doing so, this paper highlights similarities and differences across linguistic domains that are frequently found in language learning classrooms. The paper ends by identifying patterns across pedagogical explanations and by suggesting directions for future research

Overweight, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol consumption in a cross-sectional random sample of German adults

BACKGROUND: There is a current paucity of data on the health behaviour of non-selected populations in Central Europe. Data on health behaviour were collected as part of the EMIL study which investigated the prevalence of infection with Echinococcus multilocularis and other medical conditions in an urban German population. METHODS: Participating in the present study were 2,187 adults (1,138 females [52.0%]; 1,049 males [48.0%], age: 18–65 years) taken from a sample of 4,000 persons randomly chosen from an urban population. Data on health behaviour like physical activity, tobacco and alcohol consumption were obtained by means of a questionnaire, documentation of anthropometric data, abdominal ultrasound and blood specimens for assessment of chemical parameters. RESULTS: The overall rate of participation was 62.8%. Of these, 50.3% of the adults were overweight or obese. The proportion of active tobacco smokers stood at 30.1%. Of those surveyed 38.9% did not participate in any physical activity. Less than 2 hours of leisure time physical activity per week was associated with female sex, higher BMI (Body Mass Index), smoking and no alcohol consumption. Participants consumed on average 12 grams of alcohol per day. Total cholesterol was in 62.0% (>5.2 mmol/l) and triglycerides were elevated in 20.5% (≥ 2.3 mmol/l) of subjects studied. Hepatic steatosis was identified in 27.4% of subjects and showed an association with male sex, higher BMI, higher age, higher total blood cholesterol, lower HDL, higher triglycerides and higher ALT. CONCLUSION: This random sample of German urban adults was characterised by a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. This and the pattern of alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity can be considered to put this group at high risk for associated morbidity and underscore the urgent need for preventive measures aimed at reducing the significantly increased health risk

The Power of Revision on Lexical Cohesion in ESL Academic Writing

One of the most important areas of instruction for international students in college is academic writing. In this study I am evaluating how successful the completion of multiple error logs applied to sequential drafts of various essay prompts is as a tool for revision. The researched population includes international undergraduate students, at intermediate course level, whose primary language is not English. Analysis of students’ writing focuses on students\u27 integration of instructor feedback and improvements in lexical cohesiveness across drafts. Discussion of the results of this study will address the pedagogical implications of findings concerning the use of error logs as a pedagogical tool in academic ESL classes

132 Impact of hospital census and ICU throughput on hospital length of stay

Introduction: High acuity hospitals often experience delays in transferring patients from one care unit to another within the facility. One strategy to increase inpatient ward capacity and improve throughput is to delay transfer of appropriate patients from intensive care units (ICU’s) to inpatient wards. The practice of boarding “floor” patients in the ICU when there is a lack of inpatient floor beds assumes that patients will receive the appropriate care necessary to progress toward hospital discharge.Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the care provided in an inpatient ward and an ICU boarding a “floor” patient were not equivalent in terms of ancillary services and appropriate resources to prepare patients for eventual discharge from the hospital. This difference has the potential to impact length of stay and further degrade hospital throughput.Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients admitted to the Weinberg Intensive Care Unit (WICU) between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. Patients were divided into two group based on whether patients remained in the ICU after critical care services were no longer deemed necessary. Suitability for ICU discharge was reached by consensus between the patients’ primary surgeon and an intensive care physician. Our control group consisted of patients that left the ICU within 24 hours of being deemed appropriate for transfer. The floor group consisted of patients that remained in the ICU for greater than 24 hours after meeting clinical discharge criteria. Our primary outcome measure was length of hospital stay.Results: During the study period there were 1518 patients qualified for our control group and 129 patients met criteria for our boarding group. Using a linear regression model we determined that there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, sex, APR severity, admitting service, and mortality. Patients in the floor group had a statistically significant increase in the mean length of stay when compared to the standard group (13.0 days vs. 10.6 days p \u3c 0.05).Conclusions: These results suggest that boarding patients in an ICU when critical care services are no longer needed is associated with increased hospital length of stay in otherwise similar patients. It is possible that this increase is due to bias in selection of patients, exposure to pathogens in the ICU environment, or delays in progression of care along normal pathways of recovery. Further study will need to prospectively address the finding that delayed discharge of patients from the ICU increases hospital LOS

Legal Literacy and Communication Skills: Working with Law and Lawyers

Legal Literacy and Communication Skills: Working with Law and Lawyers is a first-of-its-kind text, designed expressly for students in Juris Master, Master of Jurisprudence, and Master of Legal Studies programs. This concise paperback empowers students whose professional background is outside of law with a foundational understanding of the U.S. legal system and insight into what lawyers do. Legal Literacy and Communication Skills covers key concepts, including: Understanding the roles of legislatures, agencies, and courts; Recognizing and using basic legal vocabulary in context; Reading a variety of legal documents efficiently and effectively; Writing law-related reports and correspondence; Reading and understanding the function of primary sources of law, including statutes, regulations, and cases; Understanding the basic elements of a contract and participating in contracting processes; and Recognizing and avoiding the unauthorized practice of law. Students will develop skills to help them find and use legal information for themselves or as part of a collaborative project. The text includes exercises built around an ongoing case study and helpful “Traditions and Trends” commentary, which puts today’s legal landscape into a broader context