From Prison to Homeless Shelter: Camp LaGuardia and the Political Economy of an Urban Infrastructure

At this time of increasing housing insecurity, recent reforms in homeless shelter policy have attracted the attention of scholars and activists. This research sheds light on these changes by placing them in historical and political-geographic perspective, focusing on the role of homeless shelters in stabilizing social displacement by destabilizing solidarity. It demonstrates historical continuity between prisons and homeless shelters in New York City through a case study of conditions surrounding the transition of Camp LaGuardia, a prison that slowly transformed into the city’s largest, and longest lasting, homeless shelter. The case study is an empirical demonstration of some of the theoretical underpinnings of an increasingly punitive and regulatory state, its class, race, and gender dimensions, and its rhetorical classification of itself as diminishing, aspects of social structural change that Ruth Wilson Gilmore describes as built on prison foundations. The research argues from a position and program of abolition

Economic development in revolutionary Virginia : Fredericksburg, 1750-1810

This dissertation used the development of Fredericksburg, Virginia from the middle of the eighteenth century to 1810 to study urbanization in the South, and tests the usefulness of the staple thesis in explaining the process.;Fredericksburg began as a tobacco town which grew slowly until about 1750 when the opening of new foreign markets for American corn and wheat launched it into a period of growth and prosperity. as grain moved through Fredericksburg to world markets, skilled workers moved to town to service the trade. The needs of this new population were met by other craftsmen who established consumer industries. By the Revolution the local economy had diversified and prominent citizens anticipated additional growth and development.;The Revolution itself stimulated manufacturing in Fredericksburg. Located on the main road between the northern and southern states and on another road between Tidewater and the Piedmont, the town was a major supply point for American troops. A small arms manufactory and iron works were beneficiaries of the wartime market.;After the Revolution wheat exporting continued to attract capital and labor until about 1800. Shoe manufacturers, soap and candle makers, bottlers, rope makers, and others served the consumer needs of the local population. By the early years of the new century, however, the economy stagnated. Other areas more advantageously located to the best grain producing areas drained off Fredericksburg\u27s skilled labor. Apprentices found few opportunities in town, so joined a large floating population at the bottom of the economic scale moving from place to place. The number of poor and the cost of maintaining them increased.;Before the War of 1812 Fredericksburg, like Richmond, Alexandria, and Hampton, had become a regional economic political and cultural center within a developing American national economy

Talent Identification in Youth Soccer : Prognosis of U17 Soccer Performance on the Basis of General Athleticism and Talent Promotion Interventions in Second-Grade Children

Several talent identification programs in elementary school have implemented motor diagnostics to introduce children to groups of sports, like game sports, or even to particular sports like soccer. However, as in most other sports, in youth soccer, the predictive value of such early testing is still unclear. This prospective study evaluated the midterm prognostic validity of generic motor performance tests. The sample consisted of male second-grade children, which had received a recommendation to participate in soccer. The talent screening campaign was a basic check comprising two anthropometric parameters, five physical fitness, and three motor competence diagnostics of the German Motor Test 6–18. The test data were collected from the participating elementary school classes of the years 2010 to 2014. The soccer competition performance of those children having completed the age of at least 15 years (n = 502) up to the end of the season 2019/2020 (2020, September 30) was recorded. This group of U17 players was then assigned individually to five different competition levels. The prognostic validity of the physical and physiological tests was determined using ANOVAs, odds ratios, and a regression path analysis. All diagnostic methods exhibited medium-to-high prognostic validity over the 8 year time span from the talent screening to the later soccer competitions in the adolescent age groups. For later success in soccer on the province level, the 6-min run (OR = 4.28), dynamic balance (OR = 4.04), and 20-m sprint (OR = 2.46), as well as the participation in the training center of the German Soccer Federation (OR = 5.67) and the diversity of club sport activities (OR = 3.56), were of particular importance

Prognostic Validity of Statistical Prediction Methods Used for Talent Identification in Youth Tennis Players Based on Motor Abilities

(1) Background: The search for talented young athletes is an important element of top-class sport. While performance profiles and suitable test tasks for talent identification have already been extensively investigated, there are few studies on statistical prediction methods for talent identification. Therefore, this long-term study examined the prognostic validity of four talent prediction methods. (2) Methods: Tennis players (N = 174; n♀ = 62 and n♂ = 112) at the age of eight years (U9) were examined using five physical fitness tests and four motor competence tests. Based on the test results, four predictions regarding the individual future performance were made for each participant using a linear recommendation score, a logistic regression, a discriminant analysis, and a neural network. These forecasts were then compared with the athletes’ achieved performance success at least four years later (U13‒U18). (3) Results: All four prediction methods showed a medium-to-high prognostic validity with respect to their forecasts. Their values of relative improvement over chance ranged from 0.447 (logistic regression) to 0.654 (tennis recommendation score). (4) Conclusions: However, the best results are only obtained by combining the non-linear method (neural network) with one of the linear methods. Nevertheless, 18.75% of later high-performance tennis players could not be predicted using any of the methods

Effect of a fat spread enriched with medium-chain triacylglycerols and a special fatty acid-micronutrient combination on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight patients with diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medium-chain triacylglycerols (MCT), omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3-PUFA) and micronutrients may be useful for weight and cardiometabolic risk management. However, studies analyzing the effect of a combination of both in individuals at increased cardiometabolic risk are lacking. Therefore, this randomized, controlled, double-blind study investigated the effect of a fat spread enriched with two different doses of MCT and a special long-chain fatty acid-micronutrient combination on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight diabetic patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-four patients received either a fat spread with 6 g/d MCT (MCT30%) or 1.2 g/d (MCT6%). Forty-three completed the study. Analysis was performed according to the median of MCT intake (supplemented and food-derived MCT). Clinical, anthropometric, blood, 24 h-urine parameters and dietary intake were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Total MCT intake > 7 g/d (MCT > 7 group) significantly reduced waist circumference (WC) by 1.81 ± 2.69 cm, whereas ≤ 7 g/d MCT (MCT ≤ 7 group) increased WC by 0.32 ± 3.03 cm (p = 0.027), which was supported by a change in waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (p = 0.018). Fasting serum triglycerides (TG) increased in both groups over time due to dietary habits. In contrast, diabetic metabolic situation and urinary albumin excretion did not alter. Urinary pH differed significantly between groups after 12 weeks.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>An intake of >7 g/d MCT reduced WC in overweight diabetics, whereas the increase in the intake of fatty acids may have worsened fasting TG. Therefore, the suitability of a fat for nutrient enrichment remains to be challenged, and further studies in low-fat matrices are desirable.</p

Schweigen und Verschweigen in Richard Wagners Musikdrama "Tristan und Isolde"

In Richard Wagners Musikdrama 'Tristan und Isolde' treten Schweigen und Verschweigen in den verschiedensten Ausprägungen und mit einer signifikanten Häufigkeit sowohl im Dialog bzw. in der Figurenrede als auch im Nebentext auf. Vor diesem Hintergrund setzt sich diese Diplomarbeit mit dem Phänomen auseinander, dass sich das Musikdrama in Bezug auf den künstlerischen Gehalt und die künstlerische Aussage des Stückes einer einfachen Beschreibbarkeit weitgehend entzieht, was sich auch in den teilweise stark voneinander abweichenden Meinungen zu und Interpretationen von 'Tristan und Isolde' zeigt. Die der Arbeit zugrunde liegende Hypothese geht davon aus, dass das häufige Auftreten von Schweigen und Verschweigen maßgebliche Ursache für dieses Phänomen ist. In der Aufgabenstellung und der Zielsetzung, die sich daraus ableiten, wird es darum gehen, im vorliegenden Musikdrama durch die Herausarbeitung eines kohärenten Interpretationsstrangs die Bedeutung der Schweigehandlungen und des Verschweigens zu ermitteln, um damit in weiterer Folge auch oben genanntes Phänomen näher spezifizieren zu können. Eingebettet in den vorhandenen Forschungsdiskurs wird die Deutung durch Heranziehen bereits verfügbarer Ergebnisse gestützt, aber auch in Abgrenzung dazu gesetzt, wenn dies notwendig und sinnvoll erscheint. Unter der Prämisse einer ganzheitlichen Herangehensweise liegt der Fokus zudem gleichermaßen auf dem Text als auch auf der Musik. Erkenntnisse und Ergebnisse werden dabei mit den Mitteln einer funktionalen Analyse der entsprechenden Textstellen, einer dialog- und verlaufsorientierten Wissensstand- bzw. Wissenstransferanalyse und einer motivorientierten musikalischen Analyse gewonnen. Im Verlauf der Arbeit stellt sich heraus, dass die schwere Beschreibbarkeit des Stückes im Wesentlichen durch das Unvermögen der Figuren zur mitteilenden Kommunikation sowie die auf Missverständnissen basierende Kommunikation zwischen den Figuren bedingt und dabei durch die äußere Handlungsarmut der Oper noch verstärkt wird. Das Spektrum der Ursachen für die scheiternde Kommunikation reicht vom Nicht-Kommunizieren-Wollen über das Ungenügen an der Sprache bis hin zur Unsagbarkeit. Weiterhin zeigt sich, dass sich neben der wortwörtlichen Bedeutung eine erst im Rahmen einer Interpretation sichtbar werdende, tiefer liegende Bedeutungsdimension auftut, auf die unter anderem auch die Verwendung allegorischer Personifikationen – Tag und Nacht – als dichterisches Mittel verweist

Health-Related Motor Testing of Children in Primary School : A Systematic Review of Criterion-Referenced Standards

Being physically fit in younger years prevents several diseases in the presence as well as in the life course. Therefore, monitoring physical fitness and motor competence through motor testing is essential for determining developmental status and identifying health-related risks. The main objectives of this systematic review were (1) to identify currently available health-related criterion-referenced standards and cut-off points for physical fitness and motor competence test items, (2) to frame the methodological background on setting health-related criterion-referenced standards and (3) to give implications for a health-related evaluation system for physical fitness and motor competence tests. The electronic data base search (PubMed, Web of Science and SURF) yielded 2062 records in total and identified six empirical studies reporting cut-off points of motor test items for children (7–10 years), as well as 30 methodological papers discussing determination approaches to health-related criterion-referenced standards. Data collection, selection and analyses followed the PRISMA guidelines. Health-related motor test standards need to be gender- and age-specific but should refer to an absolute cut-off point rather than to relative performance in the reference group. Due to the lack of data on health-related criterion referenced standards, receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curves provide a tool for the determination of cut-off points and criterion referenced standards for physical fitness and motor competence tests. A standardized approach forms the fundamental base for a globally applicable evaluation of health-related fitness tests

The Influence of Dietary Factors on the Risk of Urinary Stone Formation

The action of various beverages and foods on the composition of the urine in the circadian rhythm and in the 24-hour urine has been investigated under standardized conditions. Orange juice leads to a significant increase of urinary pH and citric acid excretion. Black tea leads to a raised excretion of oxalic acid by only 7.9%. In the short term, beer increases diuresis, but afterwards leads to a compensatory antidiuresis with increased risk of stone formation. Depending on their composition, mineral waters have very different effects on the urinary constituents. Milk as well as cocoa beverage significantly increase calcium excretion; moreover, cocoa causes an increase in the oxalic acid excretion. The leafy vegetable foods containing oxalate, e.g., spinach and rhubarb, lead to peaks of oxalate excretion of 300-400% in the circadian excretion curve. Cheese leads to a significant rise of calcium excretion with acidification of the urine and lowering of citrate excretion. Calcium excretion is increased by 30% by sodium chloride. Foods containing purine result in an increased uric acid excretion over several days. Depending on their phytic acid content, brans bind calcium, but lead to an increased oxalic acid excretion. Analysis of the urine indicates that average diet in Germany entails a high risk of urinary stone formation. As a result of the change to a balanced mixed or vegetarian diet, according to the requirements, significant alterations in urinary pH, calcium, magnesium, uric acid, citric acid, cystine, and glycosaminoglycan excretion are measured, resulting in a drastic reduction in the risk of urinary stone formation

Health-related motor testing of children in primary school: A systematic review of criterion-referenced standards

Being physically fit in younger years prevents several diseases in the presence as well as in the life course. Therefore, monitoring physical fitness and motor competence through motor testing is essential for determining developmental status and identifying health-related risks. The main objectives of this systematic review were (1) to identify currently available health-related criterion-referenced standards and cut-off points for physical fitness and motor competence test items, (2) to frame the methodological background on setting health-related criterion-referenced standards and (3) to give implications for a health-related evaluation system for physical fitness and motor competence tests. The electronic data base search (PubMed, Web of Science and SURF) yielded 2062 records in total and identified six empirical studies reporting cut-off points of motor test items for children (7–10 years), as well as 30 methodological papers discussing determination approaches to health-related criterion-referenced standards. Data collection, selection and analyses followed the PRISMA guidelines. Health-related motor test standards need to be gender- and age-specific but should refer to an absolute cut-off point rather than to relative performance in the reference group. Due to the lack of data on health-related criterion referenced standards, receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curves provide a tool for the determination of cut-off points and criterion referenced standards for physical fitness and motor competence tests. A standardized approach forms the fundamental base for a globally applicable evaluation of health-related fitness tests