Knowledge Cartography for Controversies: The Iraq Debate

In analysing controversies and debates—which would include reviewing a literature in order to plan research, or assessing intelligence to formulate policy—there is no one worldview which can be mapped, for instance as a single, coherent concept map. The cartographic challenge is to show which facts are agreed and contested, and the different kinds of narrative links that use facts as evidence to define the nature of the problem, what to do about it, and why. We will use the debate around the invasion of Iraq to demonstrate the methodology of using a knowledge mapping tool to extract key ideas from source materials, in order to classify and connect them within and across a set of perspectives of interest to the analyst. We reflect on the value that this approach adds, and how it relates to other argument mapping approaches

Homelessness and De-Institutionalization

The nation faces a social problem caused by the discharge of chronic mentally ill patients to the community through a process known as deinstitutionalization. Frequently hcmeless, these individuals require many community supports and have aroused public sentiment. A review of current literature is used to validate these observations. The University of Connecticut has initiated a practicn training project to educate case managers in serving the hcmeless mentally ill. From an historical perspective, this study outlines the evolution of deinstitutionalization and the identification of treatment models applied to this process

The End of Purposeful Discrimination: The Shift to an Objective \u3cem\u3eBatson\u3c/em\u3e Standard

In Batson v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court instituted a three-step analysis to prohibit the discriminatory use of peremptory challenges in jury selection. Many courts and advocates have criticized that analysis as confusing, ineffective, and impervious to implicit discrimination. As a result, courts have modified the Batson analysis many times in its thirty-year history. Since 2018, however, numerous state courts adopted a reformed Batson standard that fundamentally changes the use of peremptory challenges. Most significantly, the rule lowers the prima facie showing of discrimination at step one, lists “presumptively invalid” justifications for challenges at step two, and requires courts to determine only if “an objective observer could view race or ethnicity as a factor in the use of the peremptory challenge” at step three. Other state courts are using jury selection task forces to consider if they should adopt the objective Batson standard in their jurisdiction. This Note analyzes the recent Batson reforms in Washington, California, and Connecticut, the earliest states to adopt a version of the objective Batson standard, and argues that, despite the efficacy of the objective observer standard in eliminating some discriminatory challenges, it poses significant burdens on litigants, courts, and communities at large. As an alternative to that standard, this Note concludes that jurisdictions should instead abolish the use of peremptory challenges outright and engage in comprehensive jury reform, including public jury selection databases, more precise juror summoning, and targeted juror outreach and education efforts to systemically underrepresented communities

AMLO Promotion : Perception and Reality

Air Mobility Liaison Officers (AMLOs) provide a valuable service to Air Mobility Command as embedded liaisons to Army and Marine Units. This paper looks at the perceptions and realities of AMLO career advancement, and seeks to answer two research questions: 1) Is there a perception in the MAF that an AMLO assignment will negatively affect an officer’s promotion opportunity, and 2) Does having an AMLO assignment in one’s record affect promotion opportunity? All 18th AF Operational and OSS squadron commanders were surveyed to determine if the perception exists. To determine if an AMLO assignment actually affects promotion opportunity, HAF A1 data for mobility officers (pilots and navigators who have flown a mobility aircraft) were analyzed for promotion to Major and promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. The survey results revealed a perception that an AMLO assignment is not good for an officer’s career progression. The data revealed that prior AMLO experience has no negative effect on promotion to Major or Lieutenant Colonel. The paper concludes with recommendations on how to address this false perception

Current Post Development Problems

The major problems confronting United States\u27 seaports are investigated as they relate to the 1970s time frame. The influence of the merchant marine\u27s transition to new, large and deep drafted ships is examined as it pertains to harbor and channel depth, pier and storage requirements, waterborne traffic control and port economic impact. Present seaport facilities are barely keeping abreast with new developments in cargo transportation and handling methods. Additionally, major port development problems are magnified by the recent awarenesss of the environmental value of the coastal zone. Only a limited amount of area remains in most ports, both below the water and onshore and vigorous expansion will only be gained at the expense of irreplaceable natural surroundings

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE SINCE 1986

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Evidence-Based Dialogue Maps as a research tool to evaluate the quality of school pupils’ scientific argumentation

This pilot study focuses on the potential of Evidence-based Dialogue Mapping as a participatory action research tool to investigate young teenagers’ scientific argumentation. Evidence-based Dialogue Mapping is a technique for representing graphically an argumentative dialogue through Questions, Ideas, Pros, Cons and Data. Our research objective is to better understand the usage of Compendium, a Dialogue Mapping software tool, as both (1) a learning strategy to scaffold school pupils’ argumentation and (2) as a method to investigate the quality of their argumentative essays. The participants were a science teacher-researcher, a knowledge mapping researcher and 20 pupils, 12-13 years old, in a summer science course for “gifted and talented” children in the UK. This study draws on multiple data sources: discussion forum, science teacher-researcher’s and pupils’ Dialogue Maps, pupil essays, and reflective comments about the uses of mapping for writing. Through qualitative analysis of two case studies, we examine the role of Evidence-based Dialogue Maps as a mediating tool in scientific reasoning: as conceptual bridges for linking and making knowledge intelligible; as support for the linearisation task of generating a coherent document outline; as a reflective aid to rethinking reasoning in response to teacher feedback; and as a visual language for making arguments tangible via cartographic conventions