\u3ci\u3eBringing the Science of Policing to Liability for Third-Party Crime at Shopping Malls\u3c/i\u3e

Unlike state and municipal police forces that can generally not be sued by victims of crime on the grounds that they provided inadequate policing, shopping malls are regularly the targets by crime victims in tort actions for failing to provide adequate security. Courts have struggled with the question of how to set the standard for reasonable policing. Most courts place heavy emphasis on the foreseeability by the mall management of the likelihood of criminal activity to take place on the grounds of the mall. In doing so, they rely on the testimony of security experts who intuit as to the adequacy of the staffing. This Article challenges the case law on several grounds. First, experts fail to utilize objective data as to the workload of security officers on the mall. This Article will demonstrate that such data is available and provides an objective measure as to adequate staffing. Second, foreseeability of crime is too uncertain a measure as to the adequacy of staffing. The question of how much foreseeability is sufficient to trigger a duty of security has bedeviled the courts. Third, courts have struggled to determine whether better security would have avoided harm to a particular crime victim. Thus, even if security is found to be inadequate it is often impossible for plaintiffs to prove causation. This Article argues that once a court, based on objective data, sets the standard of reasonable care, the burden of proof that additional security would not have averted the crime to the victim should shift to the defendant management of the mall

Situational crime prevention and worldwide piracy: a cross‑continent analysis

Relying on situational crime prevention perspective, this study compares successful and unsuccessful pirate attacks reported to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) from the year 2000 through 2013 (n = 4,902). The study builds upon the recent work of Shane and Magnuson in Justice Quarterly, pp 1–26 (2014), which found various SCP techniques effectively prevented piracy attacks on a global level. The current study builds upon these findings by testing whether the global effect of SCP is consistent across individual continents. A series of mixed-effects logistic regression models and follow-up likelihood ratio tests were incorporated to explore the research question. In each model, SCP techniques were associated with unsuccessful piracy attacks on a global level. When considered individually, SCP techniques were equally effective in each continent. However, the use of multiple techniques classified within the increased effort technique of SCP was associated with increased likelihood of unsuccessful attacks in only 3 (South East Asia, Far East, and Rest of the World) of the 6 continents included in this study. The implications of these findings are discussed

Technology-rich Activities: One Type Does Not Motivate All

We report on data collected at three time points during a four-day intervention designed to explore the value added of technology-rich activities within an inquiry mathematics curriculum. Two of the activities were computer-based, whereas the third involved a professionally created movie. Using latent profile analysis we explored (a) the profiles of experiences (indicated by self-reports of immersion, interest, usefulness, and relatedness of the technology activity) that students in Grades 5–8 (n = 7774) reported regarding their participation in one of three different activities; (b) the motivational and achievement outcomes in mathematics that were evident by being a member of one of these latent profiles; and (c) the factors that predicted students’ membership into one of these profiles of technology experience. Results showed that: (1) three latent profiles emerged from the data; (2) the profiles predicted mathematics learning and motivation; and (3) grade level, prior mathematics achievement, prior mathematics interest, and students’ feelings of how autonomy supportive their teachers are predicted membership into these profiles. Results support and refine the literature in educational psychology regarding models of motivation and engagement, as well as the literature in educational technology concerning the motivational affordances of technology

Machine Learning Applications to Kronian Magnetospheric Reconnection Classification

The products of magnetic reconnection in Saturn’s magnetotail are identified in magnetometer observations primarily through characteristic deviations in the north–south component of the magnetic field. These magnetic deflections are caused by traveling plasma structures created during reconnection rapidly passing over the observing spacecraft. Identification of these signatures have long been performed by eye, and more recently through semi-automated methods, however these methods are often limited through a required human verification step. Here, we present a fully automated, supervised learning, feed forward neural network model to identify evidence of reconnection in the Kronian magnetosphere with the three magnetic field components observed by the Cassini spacecraft in Kronocentric radial–theta–phi coordinates as input. This model is constructed from a catalog of reconnection events which covers three years of observations with a total of 2093 classified events, categorized into plasmoids, traveling compression regions and dipolarizations. This neural network model is capable of rapidly identifying reconnection events in large time-span Cassini datasets, tested against the full year 2010 with a high level of accuracy (87%), true skill score (0.76), and Heidke skill score (0.73). From this model, a full cataloging and examination of magnetic reconnection events in the Kronian magnetosphere across Cassini's near Saturn lifetime is now possible

Airglow and Aurorae at Dome A, Antarctica

Despite the absence of artificial light pollution at Antarctic plateau sites such as Dome A, other factors such as airglow, aurorae, and extended periods of twilight have the potential to adversely affect optical observations. We present a statistical analysis of the airglow and aurorae at Dome A using spectroscopic data from Nigel, an optical/near-IR spectrometer operating in the 300–850 nm range. These data complement photometric images from Gattini, a wide-field (90°) CCD camera with B, V, and R filters, allowing the background sky brightness to be disentangled from the various airglow and auroral emission lines. The median auroral contribution to the B, V, and R photometric bands is found to be 22.9, 23.4, and 23.0 mag arcsec^(-2), respectively. Auroral emissions most frequently occur between 10–23 hr local time, when up to 50% of observations are above airglow-level intensities. While infrequent, the strongest emissions detected occurred in the hours just prior to magnetic midnight. We are also able to quantify the amount of annual dark time available as a function of wavelength, as well as in the standard BVR photometric bands. On average, twilight ends when the Sun reaches a zenith distance of 102.6°

Concussion-Associated Gene Variant COMT rs4680 Is Associated With Elite Rugby Athlete Status

Objective: Concussions are common match injuries in elite rugby, and reports exist of reduced cognitive function and long-term health consequences that can interrupt or end a playing career and produce continued ill health. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between elite rugby status and 8 concussion-associated risk polymorphisms. We hypothesized that concussion-associated risk genotypes and alleles would be underrepresented in elite rugby athletes compared with nonathletes. Design: A case-control genetic association study.Setting:  Institutional (university). Participants: Elite White male rugby athletes [n = 668, mean (SD) height 1.85 (0.07) m, mass 102 (12) kg, and age 29 (7) years] and 1015 nonathlete White men and women (48% men). Interventions: Genotype was the independent variable, obtained by PCR of genomic DNA using TaqMan probes.Main Outcome Measure:  Elite athlete status with groups compared using χ2 and odds ratio (OR). Results: The COMT rs4680 Met/Met (AA) genotype, Met allele possession, and Met allele frequency were lower in rugby athletes (24.8%, 74.6%, and 49.7%, respectively) than nonathletes (30.2%, 77.6%, and 54.0%; P < 0.05). The Val/Val (GG) genotype was more common in elite rugby athletes than nonathletes (OR 1.39, 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.86). No other polymorphism was associated with elite athlete status. Conclusions: Elite rugby athlete status is associated with COMT rs4680 genotype that, acting pleiotropically, could affect stress resilience and behavioral traits during competition, concussion risk, and/or recovery from concussion. Consequently, assessing COMT rs4680 genotype might aid future individualized management of concussion risk among athletes.

Investigation of Uranium Polymorphs

The UO3-water system is complex and has not been fully characterized, even though these species are common throughout the nuclear fuel cycle. As an example, most production schemes for UO3 result in a mixture of up to six or more different polymorphic phases, and small differences in these conditions will affect phase genesis that ultimately result in measureable changes to the end product. As a result, this feature of the UO3-water system may be useful as a means for determining process history. This research effort attempts to better characterize the UO3-water system with a variety of optical techniques for the purpose of developing some predictive capability for estimating process history in polymorphic phases of unknown origin. Three commercially relevant preparation methods for the production of UO3 were explored. Previously unreported low temperature routes to β- and γ-UO3 were discovered. Raman and fluorescence spectroscopic libraries were established for pure and mixed polymorphic forms of UO3 in addition to the common hydrolysis products of UO3. An advantage of the sensitivity of optical fluorescence microscopy over XRD has been demonstrated. Preliminary aging studies of the α and γ forms of UO3 have been conducted. In addition, development of a 3-D phase field model used to predict phase genesis of the system was initiated. Thermodynamic and structural constants that will feed the model have been gathered from the literature for most of the UO3 polymorphic phases

Tendon and Ligament Injuries in Elite Rugby: The Potential Genetic Influence

This article reviews tendon and ligament injury incidence and severity within elite rugby union and rugby league. Furthermore, it discusses the biological makeup of tendons and ligaments and how genetic variation may influence this and predisposition to injury. Elite rugby has one of the highest reported injury incidences of any professional sport. This is likely due to a combination of well-established injury surveillance systems and the characteristics of the game, whereby high-impact body contact frequently occurs, in addition to the high intensity, multispeed and multidirectional nature of play. Some of the most severe of all these injuries are tendon and ligament/joint (non-bone), and therefore, potentially the most debilitating to a player and playing squad across a season or World Cup competition. The aetiology of these injuries is highly multi-factorial, with a growing body of evidence suggesting that some of the inter-individual variability in injury susceptibility may be due to genetic variation. However, little effort has been devoted to the study of genetic injury traits within rugby athletes. Due to a growing understanding of the molecular characteristics underpinning the aetiology of injury, investigating genetic variation within elite rugby is a viable and worthy proposition. Therefore, we propose several single nucleotide polymorphisms within candidate genes of interest; COL1A1, COL3A1, COL5A1, MIR608, MMP3, TIMP2, VEGFA, NID1 and COLGALT1 warrant further study within elite rugby and other invasion sports

Head-Up Displays and Distraction Potential

DTNH22-11-D-00236Task Order 0019Head-up displays (HUDs) present opportunities and challenges for mitigating driver distraction. HUDs may improve safety by reducing the time required to view driving-related information relative to a traditional head-down display (HDD). However, because the HUD is in the driver\u2019s field of view, drivers may fixate on it and fail to perceive events in the environment. This study used 48 participants in the dataset and investigated driver use of a HUD, an HDD, and an aftermarket, phone-based display by measuring visual behavior during public road driving. Additionally, participants completed a task that used the displays to assess reactions to a surprise event on the Virginia Smart Road. Results showed participants had faster glances to a HUD when drivers were asked to read driving information; however, drivers were more likely to glance at the HUD than other displays while driving. While driving on a closed test track, drivers were asked to fixate on their assigned display (HDD, HUD, or aftermarket display) during a surprise event (an object dropped in the road). Reactions with the HUD were no faster than the HDD or aftermarket display while fixating on displays

Concussion-Associated Polygenic Profiles of Elite Male Rugby Athletes

Due to the high-velocity collision-based nature of elite rugby league and union, the risk of sustaining a concussion is high. Occurrence of and outcomes following a concussion are probably affected by the interaction of multiple genes in a polygenic manner. This study investigated whether suspected concussion-associated polygenic profiles of elite rugby athletes differed from non-athletes and between rugby union forwards and backs. We hypothesised that a total genotype score (TGS) using eight concussion-associated polymorphisms would be higher in elite rugby athletes than non-athletes, indicating selection for protection against incurring or suffering prolonged effects of, concussion in the relatively high-risk environment of competitive rugby. In addition, multifactor dimensionality reduction was used to identify genetic interactions. Contrary to our hypothesis, TGS did not differ between elite rugby athletes and non-athletes (p ≥ 0.065), nor between rugby union forwards and backs (p = 0.668). Accordingly, the TGS could not discriminate between elite rugby athletes and non-athletes (AUC ~0.5), suggesting that, for the eight polymorphisms investigated, elite rugby athletes do not have a more ‘preferable’ concussion-associated polygenic profile than non-athletes. However, the COMT (rs4680) and MAPT (rs10445337) GC allele combination was more common in rugby athletes (31.7%; p < 0.001) and rugby union athletes (31.8%; p < 0.001) than non-athletes (24.5%). Our results thus suggest a genetic interaction between COMT (rs4680) and MAPT (rs10445337) assists rugby athletes in achieving elite status. These findings need exploration vis-à-vis sport-related concussion injury data and could have implications for the management of inter-individual differences in concussion risk