The impact of the 287(g) program on processes of Hispanic integration and engagement : a case study of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina

This research explores the impacts of a federal-local partnership called the 287(g) program on the processes of integration of Hispanics in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina. Federal 287(g) allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to partner with state and local authorities to enact several immigration enforcement functions. In 2006, Mecklenburg County signed the 287(g) agreement to authorize a number of local sheriff deputies to determine the legal status of individuals arrested for a crime. As a new immigrant gateway, Charlotte-Mecklenburg has received a large number of immigrants in a few decades that are largely Hispanic. Previous research suggests that like any other government program, 287(g) has several intended and unintended consequences on the community. The impacts of this program are thought to be most acutely felt by the Hispanic community. Using a mixed method analysis, this research explores whether 287(g) impacts processes of Hispanic integration in terms of three main axes: social trust, social interaction, and spatial mobility. First, using secondary data, this study quantitatively investigates changes in trust, interaction, and mobility of Hispanics after 287(g) was implemented in Mecklenburg County. Second, this study qualitatively examines the program’s impact on processes of integration using 46 in-depth interviews with a variety of service providers. The qualitative method portion focuses on the service providers because they are at the frontlines of delivering basic services to the newcomers in a new immigrant gateway, and as such, provide the infrastructure of integration processes. Respondents come from a range of backgrounds: local law enforcement, community organizations, advocacy organizations, churches, health care providers, school systems, courts, media, and members of the Hispanic student community. Triangulating these two methods and bringing together various pieces of information, this research builds a deeper understanding of the impacts of 287(g) in a new immigrant gateway. There are many personal and institutional reasons that may hinder the processes of integration of Hispanics. Furthermore, economic events such as the recent downturn can also impact the daily lives of Hispanics and their integration pathways. However, the findings of this research suggest that 287(g) plays a major role in impacting trust, interaction and mobility of Hispanics in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The findings imply that the impacts of 287(g) cannot be clearly divided into intended and unintended consequences as previous research suggests. There are intended impacts of 287(g) that are in line with the official objective. For example, the 287(g) program has several intended consequences, such as identification and removal of undocumented criminals. However, the qualitative interviews suggest that there are underlying intentions of 287(g) that seek to target undocumented individuals regardless of the nature and severity of their crime. Similarly, the unintended consequences of the program also range from major impacts to more minor ones. Both quantitative and qualitative methods indicate that in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Hispanics’ trust in police have eroded after the implementation of the 287(g) program. The investigations on trust and interaction suggest that perception of the impact of 287(g) depends on whether the service provider is from a governmental or non-governmental organization. This is an important finding since in a new immigrant gateway such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg, as non-governmental organizations have been shown to play a pivotal role in providing an integration infrastructure to Hispanics (and other immigrants) rather than governmental organizations. Furthermore, this research indicates that the daily mobility of Hispanics, specifically driving an automobile, has been impacted by a combination of 287(g) and a change in driver’s licenses laws in North Carolina which points to the compounding role 287(g) plays in conjunction with other policies. Finally when asked directly about 287(g)’s impact on Hispanic mobility, respondents indicated that an adverse economic climate has a greater impact on the movement of Hispanics away from Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Hispanics may have migrated out in search of better opportunities elsewhere. Collectively, these findings not only point to the expected existence of intended and unintended consequences, but to an unexpected and more complex impact playing out in terms of Hispanics’ trust, interaction, and mobility as viewed through the service provider’s lens. The findings indicate that the unintended consequences of 287(g) stem from three main reasons: (1) Many individuals who are convicted of minor offenses, like traffic infractions are processed by 287(g); (2) Misinformation among both the Hispanic community and local law enforcement, and (3) 287(g) may have compounded the mistrust, unwillingness to interact, and mobility issues that may have previously existed. These findings indicate that Charlotte-Mecklenburg should explore other options to address the problem of identification. Resolving this issue may assist in the implementation of 287(g) according to its intended goal: to focus on major criminals. Additionally, this research indicates that consistent education of Hispanics about 287(g) is crucial to addressing the problem of misinformation about 287(g). Along with educating Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Hispanics, local law enforcement authorities who are not trained by ICE on 287(g) should also be educated about the program, as they are usually the ones who make the initial arrest. The findings suggest that dealing with the issue of identification and misinformation simultaneously may begin to decrease the negative impacts of the program and increase its effectiveness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This research uses disparate pieces of evidence to advance the discussions about the impact of local involvement in immigration enforcement policies in a new gateway city. The findings point to a need for better empirical data related to immigration enforcement policies and integration processes to be able to accurately gauge its impact on a local context. Future research can also investigate how these types of local immigration enforcement policies can potentially have a broader impact on children and immigrant families

Late afternoon at the zoo.

This thesis comprises a collection of poems completed as a student in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It is a menagerie of beasts, human or otherwise, who develop relationships with people or with nature, and the poems explore how these relationships affect their interactions in the community

Distributed design of product oriented manufacturing systems

Manufacturing leanness and agility are requirements of today’s manufacturing systems. Leanness call for a best fit of the manufacturing systems to products, therefore requiring product oriented manufacturing systems (POMS). Manufacturing agility can be achieved through easy systems reconfiguration to fit changing manufacturing requirements, which may mean dynamically configuring POMS. For this a suitable design system is required. Due to complexity of this design, and to the need for using suitable design methods, which may not be available locally, distributed sources of design services can be used. This paper presents and describes a prototype of a Distributed Design system for POMS based on a POMS design methodology and distributed suppliers of design services

A synthesis of modern and Brazilian elements: an investigation of Variantes e Toccata Opus 15a by Marlos Nobre

Marlos Nobre (b. 1939), one of the most important composers of contemporary music in Brazil, always fought against labels to define his aesthetic orientation. While resisting the idea of being considered a nationalist composer, Nobre admitted that a composer's style is the result of all his past experiences. Having been exposed to a significant amount of street music during his childhood, Nobre inevitably incorporated elements of Brazilian folklore into his early compositions. Nobre studied with Hans Joachim Koellreutter and Camargo Guarnieri, who defended opposite aesthetic views, and Nobre found himself in the middle of a dilemma regarding the use of national elements in a modern serialist language. In 1963, when he went to Buenos Aires to study with Alberto Ginastera, Olivier Messiaen, Riccardo Malipiero and other important composers, Nobre experienced a shift in his musical language which allowed him to successfully achieve a synthesis of contemporary compositional techniques and Brazilian rhythm. The new musical style was inaugurated with a composition for piano and a percussion ensemble of typical Brazilian instruments, called Variações Rítmicas opus 15. In 1997, Nobre arranged the composition for piano solo and titled it Variantes e Toccata opus 15a. This version, which consists mostly of the original piano part alone, represents an important addition to the pianistic repertory and allows a close investigation of Nobre's success in achieving a synthesis between Brazilian rhythms and serial language. After an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 provides an overview of Nobre's life and his five musical styles, focusing particularly on the dilemma that Nobre faced in his early life regarding the combination of modern and national elements. Chapter 3 places Variantes e Toccata opus 15a in a historic context by explaining the origins of opus 15 and the reasons surrounding its arrangement for piano solo. Chapter 4 discusses in more detail the relationship of Nobre with nationalism and describes the typical rhythmic patterns that represent Brazilian music. Chapter 5 consists of an analysis of the aspects of the composition that represent modern compositional techniques and identifies Nobre's manipulation of Brazilian rhythmic elements. Chapter 6 provides a brief conclusion, which summarizes the advances in Nobre's compositional technique that successfully led to the synthesis of Brazilian and modern elements

Challenges in biotechnology of reproduction in dairy cattle: the antral follicle counting as a fertility parameter

Dairy farming plays an important role in the socioeconomic scenario, and several characteristics point to an enormous potential for growth in the productivity of the herd. This is a complex activity that needs to be carried out efficiently in all the links that integrate it. Moreover, due to the physiological and metabolic aspects of the animals with the aptitude for the milk production, several challenges arise, especially in the reproductive scope. In this context, breeding biotechniques appear as a good alternative to the increase in reproductive rates and genetic improvement of dairy cattle. In addition, ovarian antral follicle counts (AFC) have been studied as a way to improve the selection of females to compose reproductive programs, because it has been shown to be a factor of high repeatability over the reproductive life in the same animal. Although studies have shown controversial results regarding the relationship between AFC and fertility, it is still necessary to investigate the possible variables that may interfere with the performance of donors in each biotechnology used. Thus, this review intends to gather and discuss the relationship of AFC with physiological aspects of dairy cows, its application as a parameter of selection of animals with good fertility and, the challenges for the application of reproductive biotechniques in dairy cattle

The Role Of RNA Binding Proteins And CRISPR/CAS9 As A Gene Editing Tool In Drosophila Nociception

Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model organism to study nociception. The compact and easily manipulated genome provides an opportunity to determine the function of molecules involved in basal and sensitized nociception in both larval and adult animals. Using the GAL4/UAS system, genetic knockdown with RNAi and knockout with CRISPR/Cas9 are possible to pinpoint specific molecular mechanisms and cellular processes within nociceptors that are implicated in nociception. The three main objectives of this work were to: elucidate the impact that three RNA binding proteins have on basal nociception, establish a transgenic fly line capable of inducing Cas9-mediated knockout of specific genes, and to validate a protocol based on a previously published assay to measure thermal nociception in adults. The expression of SC35, an exon-inclusion splicing factor; LaRP4B, a translation stimulator; and eIF2a, a translation regulator, were each required for thermal nociception. Cas9 expression led to sgRNA-independent effects such as severe defects in dendrite morphology. The adult thermal nociception assay was validated and similar results to the original publication were reproduced. Importantly, the findings made with the Drosophila model can be directly applicable to chronic pain in humans due to DNA sequence homology and the conserved function of proteins across species

Tin(iv) dopant removal through anti-solvent engineering enabling tin based perovskite solar cells with high charge carrier mobilities

We report the need for careful selection of anti-solvents for Sn-based perovskite solar cells fabricated through the commonly used anti-solvent method, compared to their Pb-based counterparts.</p

The Influence of Resistance Exercise Training on the Levels of Anxiety in Ischemic Stroke

The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the effect of a strength training program on indicators of trait and state anxiety in patients with ischemic stroke. The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental group (EG) consisting of 11 subjects aged years and a control group (CG) with 13 subjects aged years. EG underwent 12 weeks of strength training, with a frequency of three times a week. For data collection, a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used. Significant differences were found between pre- and posttest in EG for trait anxiety ( pretest posttest) and state anxiety ( pretest posttest) with no differences in CG for trait anxiety ( pretest posttest) and state anxiety ( pretest posttest). In the evaluation between the groups, significant differences were found for all indicators of trait anxiety ( EG; CG) and state anxiety ( EG; CG). This pilot study indicates that strength training may provide an improvement in trait and state anxiety more than one year after stroke

Bioactive compounds as potential angiotensin-converting enzyme II inhibitors against COVID-19: a scoping review

Objective and design The current study aimed to summarize the evidence of compounds contained in plant species with the ability to block the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-II), through a scoping review. Methods PubMed and Scopus electronic databases were used for the systematic search and a manual search was performed Results Studies included were characterized as in silico. Among the 200 studies retrieved, 139 studies listed after the exclusion of duplicates and 74 were included for the full read. Among them, 32 studies were considered eligible for the qualitative synthesis. The most evaluated class of secondary metabolites was flavonoids with quercetin and curcumin as most actives substances and terpenes (isothymol, limonin, curcumenol, anabsinthin, and artemisinin). Other classes that were also evaluated were alkaloid, saponin, quinone, substances found in essential oils, and primary metabolites as the aminoacid l-tyrosine and the lipidic compound 2-monolinolenin. Conclusion This review suggests the most active substance from each class of metabolites, which presented the strongest affinity to the ACE-II receptor, what contributes as a basis for choosing compounds and directing the further experimental and clinical investigation on the applications these compounds in biotechnological and health processes as in COVID-19 pandemic

José Donoso: los conflictos psicológicos del individuo frente a una sociedad que cambia radicalmente, el boom en Veraneo y otros cuentos y El Charlestón

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the two series of short stories, Veraneo y otros cuentos (1955) and El charlestón (1960), of the Chilean writer José Donoso, who was part of the literary period of the boom. The identity problem his children characters face, the hopeless future of the elderly, the lack of communication, the helplessness of the individual, and the psychological chaos of most of his characters, due to a society that is suffering severe political, economic and social changes, are the topics that are going to be studied in this thesis. El propósito de esta tesis es analizar las dos series de cuentos, Veraneo y otros cuentos (1955) y El charlestón (1960), del escritor chileno José Donoso, quien fue parte del período literario del boom. El problema de identidad que enfrentan sus personajes infantiles, la desesperanza en el futuro de sus personajes ancianos, la falta de comunicación, el desamparo del individuo y el caos psicológico en la mayoría de sus personajes, debido a una sociedad que está sufriendo severos cambios políticos, económicos y sociales, son los temas que se estudiarán en esta tesis