Modeling the 1998–2003 summer circulation and thermal structure in Lake Michigan

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94672/1/jgrc10155.pd

Strain Drain: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Impact Of Mortgage Strain Recovery Strategies On Health Outcome And Behaviors

When individuals enter into mortgage delinquency or foreclosure, the benefits of home become threatened. How individuals respond to economic stress, and the strategies they use to recover, provides insight into personal spending priorities, the importance of healthcare for such individuals, and resulting health outcomes and behaviors. This paper aims to explore how foreclosure and mortgage strain act as distal or upstream determinants of health for a small sample of individuals from an urban African-American community. It presents a qualitative analysis of how individuals’ experiences with, attitudes concerning and circumstances surrounding mortgage delinquency, and their recovery from it, impact health. It examines the coping strategies used by citizens to maintain their status as homeowners and the concessions they make towards other essential needs, such as food, education and healthcare. Data in the form of semi-structured interviews was collected by a team of researchers (Danya E. Keene and Amy Castro Baker) in a neighborhood situated in the northeastern United States. Original transcripts were conferred by Keene, and a secondary analysis was completed for this study driven by codes relating to employment, social networks, social services, payments, and spending strategies. Final analysis showed that additional employment, loan modifications, spending reprioritization, government support, and social support were various strategies by which the interviewees attempted to recover from mortgage strain. Each strategy was associated with an increased risk to various negative health outcomes as evidenced in previous literature. The primary health problems experienced by the interviewees were mental health symptoms such as stress, fatigue and depressive symptoms; an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases; and decreased use of healthcare services

America’s Favorite Antidote: Drug-Induced Homicide in the Age of the Overdose Crisis

Nearing the end of its second decade, the overdose crisis in the United States continues to claim tens of thousands of lives. Despite the rhetorical emphasis on a “public health” approach, criminal law and its enforcement continue to play a central role among policy responses to this crisis. A legacy of the 1980s War on Drugs, statutory provisions that implicate drug distributors in overdose fatalities are on the books in many U.S. jurisdictions and federally. This Article articulates an interdisciplinary critique of these “drug-induced homicide” laws at a time of their increased popularity, expanding scope, and aggressive prosecution. That these policy mechanisms are deployed under the banner of overdose prevention invites a critical public health lens to their reexamination. After tracing the trajectory of the overdose crisis, this Article examines the role of drug-induced homicide laws as exemplars of U.S. drug policy’s reliance on criminal law to address problematic substance use. An empirical analysis of publicized drug-induced homicide cases documents a rapid and accelerating diffusion of prosecutions in many hard-hit jurisdictions; pronounced racial disparities in enforcement and sentencing; and broad misclassification of friends, partners, family members, and others as “dealers.” In addition to crowding out evidence-based interventions and investments, these policies and prosecutions run at direct cross-purposes to public health efforts that encourage witnesses to summon lifesaving help during overdose events. At a time of crisis, drug-induced homicide laws and prosecutions represent a false prophecy of retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation. These findings support further efforts to demobilize criminal law and criminal justice actors from responding to drug-related harms in the U.S. as elsewhere

Assimilation of current measurements into a circulation model of Lake Michigan

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95190/1/wrcr11238.pd

A Unification of Models of Tethered Satellites

In this paper, different conservative models of tethered satellites are related mathematically, and it is established in what limit they may provide useful insight into the underlying dynamics. An infinite dimensional model is linked to a finite dimensional model, the slack-spring model, through a conjecture on the singular perturbation of tether thickness. The slack-spring model is then naturally related to a billiard model in the limit of an inextensible spring. Next, the motion of a dumbbell model, which is lowest in the hierarchy of models, is identified within the motion of the billiard model through a theorem on the existence of invariant curves by exploiting Moser's twist map theorem. Finally, numerical computations provide insight into the dynamics of the billiard model

Climatological circulation in Lake Michigan

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94639/1/grl25231.pd

Bundling occupational safety with harm reduction information as a feasible method for improving police receptiveness to syringe access programs: evidence from three U.S. cities

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>In light of overwhelming evidence that access to sterile injection equipment reduces incidence of injection-attributable bloodborne disease without encouraging drug use, many localities have authorized sterile syringe access programs (SAPs), including syringe exchange and pharmacy-based initiatives. Even where such interventions are clearly legal, many law enforcement officers are unaware of the public health benefits and legal status of these programs and may continue to treat the possession of injection equipment as illegal and program participation as a marker of illegal behavior. Law enforcement practice can impede SAP utilization and may increase the risk of needlestick injury (NSI) among law enforcement personnel. Many SAPs conduct little or no outreach to law enforcement, in part because they perceive law enforcement actors as unreceptive to health-promotion programs targeting drug users.</p> <p>Case description</p> <p>We report on a brief training intervention for law enforcement personnel designed to increase officer knowledge of and positive attitudes towards SAPs by bundling content that addresses officer concerns about infectious disease and occupational safety with information about the legality and public health benefits of these programs. Pilot trainings using this bundled curriculum were conducted with approximately 600 officers in three US cities.</p> <p>Discussion and evaluation</p> <p>Law enforcement officers were generally receptive to receiving information about SAPs through the bundled curriculum. The trainings led to better communication and collaboration between SAP and law enforcement personnel, providing a valuable platform for better harmonization of law enforcement and public health activities targeting injection drug users.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The experience in these three cities suggests that a harm reduction training curriculum that bundles strategies for increasing officer occupational safety with information about the legality and public health benefits of SAPs can be well received by law enforcement personnel and can lead to better communication and collaboration between law enforcement and harm reduction actors. Further study is indicated to assess whether such a bundled curriculum is effective in changing officer attitudes and beliefs and reducing health risks to officers and injection drug users, as well as broader benefits to the community at large.</p