Petitions from the Grave: Why Federal Executions Are a Violation of the Suspension Clause

This Note will address the intersection of wrongful convictions, the federal death penalty, and habeas corpus to conclude that the federal death penalty is an unconstitutional violation of the Suspension Clause of the United States Constitution. Part I of this Note will establish that Congress may not suspend the writ of habeas corpus outside of wartime. Then, Part II will show that wrongfully convicted prisoners therefore have a constitutional right to a habeas petition if they discover new, exonerating evidence. Part III will argue that because executed prisoners cannot file a habeas petition for release, executing wrongfully convicted prisoners is an unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Finally, Part IV will extend Part III to show that the government has no way to know, prior to execution, who will be wrongfully or rightfully executed and therefore the federal government may not execute any prisoners without certainly suspending habeas corpus for some prisoners. Finally, Part V will explore counterarguments to this Note’s argument

First year's results and field experience with the latest JILA absolute gravimeter

One of the six absolute gravity instruments developed and built by the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) between 1982 and 1985 was tested under a variety of environmental conditions between May 1987 and 1988. Of the 30 sites visited during this period, 10 were occupied more than once. These reobservations indicate repeatability between 1 and 4 microgals

Do No Harm: Challenges in Organizing Psychosocial Support to Displaced People in Emergency Settings

Psychosocial assistance in emergencies plays an important role in alleviating suffering and promoting well-being, but it is often a source of unintended harm. A prerequisite for ethically appropriate support is awareness of how psychosocial programs may cause harm. This paper underscores the importance of attending to issues of coordination, dependency, politicization of aid, assessment, short-term assistance, imposition of outsider approaches, protection, and impact evaluation. With regard to each of these issues, it suggests practical steps that may be taken to reduce harm and maximize the humanitarian value of psychosocial assistance.L’assistance psychosociale dans des situations d’urgences joue un rôle important dans le soulagement de la souffrance et la promotion du bien-être ; mais, souvent, elle est la source de préjudices non intentionnels. Une connaissance de la façon dont les programmes psychosociaux peuvent causer des préjudices est un préalable pour un support éthiquement convenable. Cet article souligne l’importance de la prise en considération des problèmes liés à la coordination, la dépendance, la politisation de l’aide, l’évaluation, l’assistance à court terme, l’imposition des approches par des personnes extérieures, la protection, et l’évaluation de l’impact. Il suggère des mesures pratiques qui peuvent être prises par rapport à chacun de ces problèmes pour réduire les préjudices et optimiser la valeur humanitaire de l’assistance psychosociale.L’assistance psychosociale dans des situations d’urgences joue un rôle important dans le soulagement de la souffrance et la promotion du bien-être ; mais, souvent, elle est la source de préjudices non intentionnels. Une connaissance de la façon dont les programmes psychosociaux peuvent causer des préjudices est un préalable pour un support éthiquement convenable. Cet article souligne l’importance de la prise en considération des problèmes liés à la coordination, la dépendance, la politisation de l’aide, l’évaluation, l’assistance à court terme, l’imposition des approches par des personnes extérieures, la protection, et l’évaluation de l’impact. Il suggère des mesures pratiques qui peuvent être prises par rapport à chacun de ces problèmes pour réduire les préjudices et optimiser la valeur humanitaire de l’assistance psychosociale

The effects of reinforcement upon the prepecking behaviors of pigeons in the autoshaping experiment.

The autoshaping procedure confounds the effects of pairing a keylight and food with the effect of adventitious food reinforcement of responses that typically occur before the pecking response. In Experiment I, acquisition of the orientation to the key, the approach toward the key, and the peck at the key were systematically monitored. Orientations to the key and approaches toward the key frequently occurred in contiguity with food presentation before peck acquisition. In Experiment II, a negative contingency procedure was used to assess the sensitivity of the approach toward the key to its consequences. When the approach toward the key resulted in nonreinforcement, the probability of occurrence of that response decreased to zero despite repeated light-food pairings. In Experiment III, peck probability was shown to be determined during the approach toward the key by the presence of stimuli that had previously been either paired or nonpaired with food. In Experiment IV, it was shown that the effects of the stimulus present during the approach toward the key were not due solely to the effects of pairing that stimulus with food. Autoshaped key pecking appears to be determined by the interacting effects of stimulus-reinforcer and response-reinforcer variables upon orientations to, approaches toward, and pecks at the lighted key

Place-Based Conservation and Urban Waterways: Watershed Activism in the Bottom of the Basin

Decentralized management and citizen participation have been central tenets of water governance reform over the last two decades. However, representation and process in the bottom of the bottom-up transformation of urban watershed management too often replicate the values of the top-down administration it was meant to replace: economic efficiency and rational utilitarianism as understood by well-resourced political elites. This article presents an argument for building the capacity to accomplish equity in urban watershed management via experiential, symbolic, and identity-based means of social engagement. The watershed movement is spurred on by place-based activism, motivated by geographically rooted identification with a watershed\u27s intrinsic value and worth. If equity matters in urban watershed management, then it matters profoundly who has the opportunity to form place-based relationships with urban waterways and their riverbanks and lakeshores. Drawing on examples from fieldwork in Los Angeles, this article argues that broadening the base and political power of urban watershed activism and thus the equity of decentralized modes of urban watershed management will rely upon diversifying the ranks of urban citizens who are deeply place-attached to the watershed

Reducing Teenage Pregnancy in Sierra Leone

Research directly involving teenagers and their families in Sierra Leone to reduce teenage pregnancy has helped pave the way for a new community-friendly Child and Family Welfare Policy. The research by the Columbia Group for Children in Adversity and UNICEF Sierra Leone mobilised local people through child- and youth-led education initiatives and through closer connections with district health workers. Thanks to the project, condom use increased, teenage girls reported feeling more confident to say ‘no’ and boys showed more willingness to act responsibly. The findings directly influenced the Sierra Leone government’s development of a new policy on child protection.ESRC-DFI

A systems based stress reduction psychological education program for emergency veterinary personnel: development and evaluation

Conventional veterinary training equips veterinarians with skills to treat medical problems with animals. Until recently little emphasis has been placed on the human aspects of veterinary training and treatment. With the identification of the Human/Companion Animal Bond as a distinct area of scientific investigation, an increased awareness in this human factor in veterinary work has begun to emerge. To address the human factor, this study set out to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program developed to equip veterinarians with intervention skills and knowledge of family emotional process.;One, if not the most stressful, aspects of veterinary work reported by clinicians was dealing with anxious pet owners. The rationale for this study was to equip veterinarians with family psychotherapy theory and methodology to better handle anxious pet owners, thus reducing job stress for veterinarians.;The training program developed offered fifteen contact hours. The training was experience based learning as well as conventional didactic presentation.;The population was selected from among the staffs of two emergency veterinary clinics. For the pre-post control group design, one clinic comprised the treatment group and the other the control group. Pre and post testing was conducted on the dimensions of clinician anxiety level and level of clinician empathic response. These measures were taken after simulated pet/owner interviews which employed trained actors as pet owners and real pets as identified patients. Each of these simulated interviews was videotaped as part of the evaluation process.;The research findings were statistically significant supporting a treatment effect on the dimension of increased empathy expressed by the clinician. The anxiety results were inconclusive in that raw scores on this measure suggested the presence of socially desirable scoring patterns.;The scoring patterns for the treatment and control groups combined with their subjective evaluations of the training lend support to the need for training in this area. Implications for future training and research in veterinary stress management training are addressed