Letter from Dr. Brown

It is with great delight that I write this note introducing theinaugural issue of the journal, The Annual Review of CriminalJustice Studies (ARCJS). While the department has expressed adesire for a student-run journal for several years, it took theenterprising spirit of our newest tenure-track faculty member, Dr.Albert de la Tierra, or Professor Lobo as his students call him, forthis project to come to fruition. Without Professor Lobo inspiringhis students or applying his many gifts in this area, this journalwould have taken much longer to happen. Thank you, ProfessorLobo, for this gift to the department, our students, and to allinterested in current topics in Criminal Justice Studies. Professor Lobo’s inspiration is infectious, demonstrated byhis ability to get three of our best and brightest students in thedepartment to serve as the inaugural editorial board. ClaudiaLomeli-Rodriguez, Grace Ann Cowherd, and Serena RaquelGomez serve as the editorial committee and have set the bar highfor the quality and caliber of the journal in its very first go-around.Together, these remarkable students have compiled a compellingand exciting first issue that traverses the wide range of topics thatinterest our students. And their editorial expertise is already ondisplay, through the selection of the articles, the arrangement of theissue, and most importantly, through the compelling topics andideas that are presented herein

Topical administration of psychotropic medications in pluronic lecithin organogel to treat patients with dementia: A retrospective observational study

OBJECTIVE: Treatment of mood and behavioral symptoms in geriatric patients with advanced dementia may be impeded by poor compliance with oral medications. Pluronic lecithin organogel (PLO) is a compounding substrate that can be used for the topical administration of psychotropic medications. METHODS: Charts of patients treated with psychotropic medications compounded with PLO cream were reviewed for treatment outcomes. All patients were treated by a nursing home outreach service. RESULTS: Records from twenty-four patients, mean age 86.8 + 5.9, were reviewed. Common psychiatric symptoms included agitation, aggressive behavior, and depression. Medications most commonly administered as a PLO cream included quetiapine and venlafaxine. All patients had mild to marked improvement in psychiatric symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Pluronic lecithin organogel (PLO) may be an effective option for the topical administration of psychiatric medications in geriatric patients with dementia who are not compliant with oral medications

Subtyping with Generics: A Unified Approach

Reusable software increases programmers\u27 productivity and reduces repetitive code and software bugs. Variance is a key programming language mechanism for writing reusable software. Variance is concerned with the interplay of parametric polymorphism (i.e., templates, generics) and subtype (inclusion) polymorphism. Parametric polymorphism enables programmers to write abstract types and is known to enhance the readability, maintainability, and reliability of programs. Subtyping promotes software reuse by allowing code to be applied to a larger set of terms. Integrating parametric and subtype polymorphism while maintaining type safety is a difficult problem. Existing variance mechanisms enable greater subtyping between parametric types, but they suffer from severe deficiencies. They are unable to express several common type abstractions. They can cause a proliferation of types and redundant code. They are difficult for programmers to use due to its inherent complexity. This dissertation aims to improve variance mechanisms in programming languages supporting parametric polymorphism. To address the shortcomings of current mechanisms, I will combine two popular approaches, definition-site variance and use-site variance, in a single programming language. I have developed formal languages or calculi for reasoning about variance. The calculi are example languages supporting both notions of definition-site and use-site variance. They enable stating precise properties that can be proved rigorously. The VarLang calculus demonstrates fundamental issues in variance from a language neutral perspective. The VarJ calculus illustrates realistic complications by modeling a mainstream programming language, Java. VarJ not only supports both notions of use-site and definition-site variance but also language features with complex interactions with variance such as F-bounded polymorphism and wildcard capture. A mapping from Java to VarLang was implemented in software that infers definition-site variance for Java. Large, standard Java libraries (e.g. Oracle\u27s JDK 1.6) were analyzed using the software to compute metrics measuring the benefits of adding definition-site variance to Java, which only supports use-site variance. Applying this technique to six Java generic libraries shows that 21-47% (depending on the library) of generic definitions are inferred to have single-variance; 7-29% of method signatures can be relaxed through this inference, and up to 100% of existing wildcard annotations are unnecessary and can be elided. Although the VarJ calculus proposes how to extend Java with definition-site variance, no mainstream language currently supports both definition-site and use-site variance. To assist programmers with utilizing both notions with existing technology, I developed a refactoring tool that refactors Java code by inferring definition-site variance and adding wildcard annotations. This tool is practical and immediately applicable: It assumes no changes to the Java type system, while taking into account all its intricacies. This system allows users to select declarations (variables, method parameters, return types, etc.) to generalize and considers declarations not declared in available source code. I evaluated our technique on six Java generic libraries. I found that 34% of available declarations of variant type signatures can be generalized-i.e., relaxed with more general wildcard types. On average, 146 other declarations need to be updated when a declaration is generalized, showing that this refactoring would be too tedious and error-prone to perform manually. The result of applying this refactoring is a more general interface that supports greater software reuse

AS-771-13 Resolution on Proposal for the Establishment of the Kenneth N. Edwards Western Coatings Technology Center

That The Academic Senate endorses the proposal for the Kenneth N. Edwards Western Coatings Technology Center

Miners shot down : a documentary on the Marikana massacre by Rehad Desai

A documentary on the Marikana massacre by Rehad Desai Followed by a discussion: Marikana – what it means for South Africa’s Future? Panelists for the discussion: Prof Peter Alexander, South Africa Research Chair in Social Change, University of Johannesburg Prof Mary Galvin, Department of Anthropology and Development, University of Johannesburg Mr Ronnie Kasril

A discussion with Ahmed Kathrada - based on his memoirs

Ahmed Kathrada’s Memoirs give an insight into his remarkable life during which he observed and actively participated in the shaping of South Africa’s history

Clean birth kits to improve birth practices: development and testing of a country level decision support tool

Background: Clean birth practices can prevent sepsis, one of the leading causes of both maternal and newborn mortality. Evidence suggests that clean birth kits (CBKs), as part of package that includes education, are associated with a reduction in newborn mortality, omphalitis, and puerperal sepsis. However, questions remain about how best to approach the introduction of CBKs in country. We set out to develop a practical decision support tool for programme managers of public health systems who are considering the potential role of CBKs in their strategy for care at birth. Methods: Development and testing of the decision support tool was a three-stage process involving an international expert group and country level testing. Stage 1, the development of the tool was undertaken by the Birth Kit Working Group and involved a review of the evidence, a consensus meeting, drafting of the proposed tool and expert review. In Stage 2 the tool was tested with users through interviews (9) and a focus group, with federal and provincial level decision makers in Pakistan. In Stage 3 the findings from the country level testing were reviewed by the expert group. Results: The decision support tool comprised three separate algorithms to guide the policy maker or programme manager through the specific steps required in making the country level decision about whether to use CBKs. The algorithms were supported by a series of questions (that could be administered by interview, focus group or questionnaire) to help the decision maker identify the information needed. The country level testing revealed that the decision support tool was easy to follow and helpful in making decisions about the potential role of CBKs. Minor modifications were made and the final algorithms are presented. Conclusion: Testing of the tool with users in Pakistan suggests that the tool facilitates discussion and aids decision making. However, testing in other countries is needed to determine whether these results can be replicated and to identify how the tool can be adapted to meet country specific needs