Injunctive Relief for Constitutional Violations: Does the Civil Service Reform Act Preclude Equitable Remedies?

This Note argues that the federal courts retain power to furnish equitable relief for constitutional violations to ensure adequate protection of federal employees\u27 rights. Statutory procedures and remedies available under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) and related legislation should preempt judicially created equitable relief only where the government or federal agency affirmatively demonstrates that these procedures are constitutionally sufficient. Part I canvasses the current lower court response to the question of preclusion and notes the various routes taken by the courts in inferring congressional intent to preempt. This Part discusses varying interpretations of the Civil Service Reform Act, the comprehensive legislation which some courts have recently held evinces Congress\u27 intent to preclude judicially created remedies. Part II charts the organization and procedural scheme of the civil service under the Act, calling attention to weaknesses in the statute which have hindered achievement of its objectives. Finally, Part III focuses on the judiciary\u27s role in safeguarding constitutional guarantees. The discussion highlights the traditional role injunctive relief has played in implementing constitutional protections. This Note concludes that judicially created equitable relief for constitutional deprivations promotes efficient operation of the civil service and, more importantly, ensures adequate protection of federal employees\u27 constitutional rights

Institutionalized Barriers and Supports of Female Athletic Directors: A Multilevel Perspective

Despite an increase in participation rates among girls and women across all levels of sport, women are still underrepresented in leadership positions. Less than 10% of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Athletic Directors (ADs) are female. The current study examined the supports and barriers of 10 NCAA Division I female ADs. Using institutional theory to frame the research, through semistructured interviews barriers and supports were categorized using a multilevel approach model (i.e., macro, meso, and micro). The multilevel approach allows readers to see how factors shape and are shaped by one another. Results revealed macro factors such as power, hegemonic masculinity, inclusive environments, stakeholder expectations, and institutional gender discrimination. Meso factors included occupational segregation, family-work life, organizational demography and culture. Micro factors included self-efficacy, gender socialization, career intentions, self-limiting behaviors, human and social capital. Overall, three factors emerged as support-only factors: inclusive environments, human and social capital, while seven factors materialized as barrier-only factors. These results have both theoretical and practical application opportunities for individuals, organizations, and society

Association between depressive symptom clusters and food attentional bias

Background The mechanisms underlying the depression-obesity relationship are unclear. Food attentional bias (FAB) represents one candidate mechanism that has not been examined. We evaluated the hypothesis that greater depressive symptoms are associated with increased FAB. Method Participants were 89 normal weight or overweight adults (mean age = 21.2 ± 4.0 years, 53% female, 33% non-white, mean body mass index in kg/m2 = 21.9 ± 1.8 for normal weight; 27.2 ± 1.5 for overweight). Total, somatic, and cognitive-affective depressive symptom scores were computed from the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). FAB scores were calculated using reaction times (RT) and eye-tracking (ET) direction and duration measures for a food visual probe task. Age, gender, race/ethnicity, and body fat percent were covariates. Results Only PHQ-8 somatic symptoms were positively associated with RT-measured FAB (β = 0.23, p = .04). The relationship between somatic symptoms and ET direction (β = 0.18, p = .17) and duration (β = 0.23, p = .08) FAB indices were of similar magnitude but were not significant. Somatic symptoms accounted for 5% of the variance in RT-measured FAB. PHQ-8 total and cognitive-affective symptoms were unrelated to all FAB indices (ps ≥ 0.09). Conclusions Only greater somatic symptoms of depression were linked to food attentional bias as measured using reaction time. Well-powered prospective studies should examine whether this bias replicates, particularly for eye-tracking measures, and whether it partially mediates the depression-to-obesity relationship

Recommendations for properly conducted lineup identification tasks

An eyewitness takes the stand and describes salient aspects of an event that he or she witnessed several months earlier. Then, in the hush of the courtroom, points to the defendant and says “That\u27s him. That\u27s the man I saw.” Simple, clean, and convincing. And therein rests the problem; what appears to be a simple identification is in fact the result of a series of complex and potentially unreliable social and cognitive events that began unfolding several months earlier when the event was originally witnessed. This chapter, and much of the empirical research on which it is based, operates on an assumption that there are two sources of unreliability in eyewitness accounts. First, there are some inherent limitations in human information processing. These limitations exist at sensory levels (for example, Sperling, 1960), attentional levels (for example, Broadbent, 1958; Deutsch & Deutsch, 1963; Triesman, 1964), and memory levels (for example, Miller, 1956; Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). But inaccuracies in eyewitness accounts are not entirely attributable to human imperfections in sensation, perception, and memory. The second source of inaccuracy in eyewitness accounts can be attributed to the methods the justice system uses to obtain information from eyewitnesses. The work of Elizabeth Loftus on the effects of misleading questions serves to make this point (see Loftus, 1979; and this volume). The account one gets from an eyewitness depends very much on the methods used to solicit the information. The study of how to improve eyewitness accuracy by manipulating the methods used to obtain information from eyewitnesses is known as a systemvariable approach to eyewitness research (Wells, 1978)

Risk factors for COPD exacerbations in inhaled medication users: the COPDGene study biannual longitudinal follow-up prospective cohort.

BackgroundDespite inhaled medications that decrease exacerbation risk, some COPD patients experience frequent exacerbations. We determined prospective risk factors for exacerbations among subjects in the COPDGene Study taking inhaled medications.Methods2113 COPD subjects were categorized into four medication use patterns: triple therapy with tiotropium (TIO) plus long-acting beta-agonist/inhaled-corticosteroid (ICS ± LABA), tiotropium alone, ICS ± LABA, and short-acting bronchodilators. Self-reported exacerbations were recorded in telephone and web-based longitudinal follow-up surveys. Associations with exacerbations were determined within each medication group using four separate logistic regression models. A head-to-head analysis compared exacerbation risk among subjects using tiotropium vs. ICS ± LABA.ResultsIn separate logistic regression models, the presence of gastroesophageal reflux, female gender, and higher scores on the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire were significant predictors of exacerbator status within multiple medication groups (reflux: OR 1.62-2.75; female gender: OR 1.53 - OR 1.90; SGRQ: OR 1.02-1.03). Subjects taking either ICS ± LABA or tiotropium had similar baseline characteristics, allowing comparison between these two groups. In the head-to-head comparison, tiotropium users showed a trend towards lower rates of exacerbations (OR = 0.69 [95 % CI 0.45, 1.06], p = 0.09) compared with ICS ± LABA users, especially in subjects without comorbid asthma (OR = 0.56 [95% CI 0.31, 1.00], p = 0.05).ConclusionsEach common COPD medication usage group showed unique risk factor patterns associated with increased risk of exacerbations, which may help clinicians identify subjects at risk. Compared to similar subjects using ICS ± LABA, those taking tiotropium showed a trend towards reduced exacerbation risk, especially in subjects without asthma.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00608764, first received 1/28/2008

Mirror on the Field: Gender, Authorship, and Research Methods in Higher Education’s Leading Journals

Framed conceptually by gender equity, gender homophily, the contest regime of blind peer-review publishing, and the gendered nature of the quantitative–qualitative debate, this study investigated the intersection of authorship, gender, and methodological characteristics of 408 articles published from 2006 to 2010 in 3 major higher education journals. Nonbinary coding of author gender based on pronouns identified via Web searches virtually eliminated missing data and likely reduced error. Results suggest movement toward gender parity over time; however, women’s representation among authors does not appear commensurate with representation in the field. Findings revealed gendered use of research methods, with qualitative articles more likely to be first-authored by women and quantitative articles more likely to be first-authored by men. Nevertheless, articles first-authored by both women and men were more likely to use quantitative than qualitative methods. Quantitative research, more so than qualitative research, appears to be a site of cogender collaboration, which has increased over time. This portrait of the intersection of authorship, gender, and research methods provides an empirical foundation for discussion and inquiry about gender and scholarship in the field, and the results of our study are generative for future research

Evaluation of Earbud and Wristwatch Heart Rate Monitors during Aerobic and Resistance Training

International Journal of Exercise Science 12(4): 374-384, 2019. Assessment of biometrics during exercise is evolving to create devices that are “all-inclusive , in an effort to decrease the number of devices required during exercise while providing comprehensive and accurate biometric measures. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of two optical heart rate monitors, the Jabra earbud and the Mio Alpha wristwatch, during aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Twenty-two recreationally active participants (25.4 ± 6.9 years, 171 ± 11 cm, 73.9 ± 3.1 kg, and 25.2 ± 9.2% body fat) completed this study. Participants completed 30 minutes of treadmill activity, 25 minutes of high-intensity interval exercise (HIT), and 40 minutes of continuous outdoor activity of their choice, walking or running. Three heart rate (HR) monitors, (Polar chest strap, Mio Alpha, Jabra earbud) were worn during all exercises, with the Polar chest strap serving as the benchmark. HR was assessed in one-second intervals. Analyses included mean bias, mean absolute percent error (MAPE), and Lin’s concordance coefficient. Overall, the Mio Alpha had a MAPE of 5.73 ± 10.19% and a moderate correlation with the benchmark, r(c) = 0.771, performing better in the treadmill and outdoor conditions. The Jabra earbud had a MAPE of 3.14 ± 6.13%, and a high correlation with the benchmark, r(c) = 0.939, performing well in all three conditions. Placing a HR monitor in an earbud is a viable option for obtaining an accurate HR assessment during different types of exercise. The accuracy of the Mio Alpha was likely affected by wrist movements during the HIT training

A Latent Class Analysis of Heterosexual Young Men\u27s Masculinities

Parallel bodies of research have described the diverse and complex ways that men understand and construct their masculine identities (often termed masculinities ) and, separately, how adherence to traditional notions of masculinity places men at risk for negative sexual and health outcomes. The goal of this analysis was to bring together these two streams of inquiry. Using data from a national, online sample of 555 heterosexually active young men, we employed latent class analysis (LCA) to detect patterns of masculine identities based on men\u27s endorsement of behavioral and attitudinal indicators of dominant masculinity, including sexual attitudes and behaviors. LCA identified four conceptually distinct masculine identity profiles. Two groups, termed the Normative and Normative/Male Activities groups, respectively, constituted 88Ã¥ % of the sample and were characterized by low levels of adherence to attitudes, sexual scripts, and behaviors consistent with dominant masculinity, but differed in their levels of engagement in male-oriented activities (e.g., sports teams). Only eight percent of the sample comprised a masculinity profile consistent with traditional ideas about masculinity; this group was labeled Misogynistic because of high levels of sexual assault and violence toward female partners. The remaining four percent constituted a Sex-Focused group, characterized by high numbers of sexual partners, but relatively low endorsement of other indicators of traditional masculinity. Follow-up analyses showed a small number of differences across groups on sexual and substance use health indicators. Findings have implications for sexual and behavioral health interventions and suggest that very few young men embody or endorse rigidly traditional forms of masculinity