Media Coverage of Law Enforcement Use of Force and Disability

Disability intersects with other factors such as race, class, gender, and sexuality, to magnify degrees of marginalization and increase the risk of violence. When the media ignores or mishandles a major factor, as we contend they generally do with disability, it becomes harder to effect change.This white paper focuses on the three years of media coverage of police violence and disability since the death of a young man with Down syndrome, named Ethan Saylor, in January 2013. After reviewing media coverage of eight selected cases of police violence against individuals with disabilities, the paper reveals the following patterns in the overall data:? Disability goes unmentioned or is listed as an attribute without context.? An impairment is used to evoke pity or sympathy for the victim.? A medical condition or "mental illness" is used to blame victims for their deaths.? In rare instances, we have identified thoughtful examinations of disability from within its social context that reveal the intersecting forces that lead to dangerous use-of-force incidents. Such stories point the way to better models for policing in the future. We conclude by proposing best practices for reporting on disability and police violence

HABITAT UTILIZATION BY THE TEXAS HORNED LIZARD (PHRYNOSOMA CORNUTUM) FROM TWO SITES IN CENTRAL TEXAS

The Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is found in a variety of habitats. Although several studies have been conducted on habitat use by this species, none have been performed in central Texas, a more mesic habitat than most of those previously studied. This area is of special interest because horned lizard populations have been experiencing sharp declines in central Texas over the last approximately 50 years. We collected habitat data at two sites in central Texas, Camp Bowie and Blue Mountain Peak Ranch. Microhabitat data included canopy cover and ground cover from digitized photographs of Daubenmire quadrats; macrohabitat variables included vegetation height and length, cactus height, soil penetrability, woody plant species richness, tree density, tree diameter at breast height (DBH), and density of ant mounds collected along 100-m by 2-m transects. Similar patterns of habitat use were observed between the two sites. At Blue Mountain Peak Ranch, lizards appeared to be located in areas with a diversity of ground cover types, as observed in previous studies. At Camp Bowie, vegetation encroachment limited lizards in some areas to the use of roads and road margins. Implementation of prescribed burns or other vegetation management could create the preferred ground cover mosaic at such sites

INCORPORATING GOVERNMENT PROGRAM PROVISIONS INTO A MEAN-VARIANCE FRAMEWORK

E-V studies traditionally have relied on historical data to calculate returns and variance. Historical data may not fully reflect current conditions, particularly when decisions involve government-supported crops. This paper presents a method for calculating mean and variance using subjectively-estimated data. The method is developed for both government-supported and non-program crops. Comparisons to alternative methods suggest the approach provides reasonable accuracy.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Direct Evidence for the Source of Reported Magnetic Behavior in "CoTe"

In order to unambiguously identify the source of magnetism reported in recent studies of the Co-Te system, two sets of high-quality, epitaxial CoTe$_x$ films (thickness $\simeq$ 300 nm) were prepared by pulse laser deposition (PLD). X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that all of the films are epitaxial along the [001] direction and have the hexagonal NiAs structure. There is no indication of any second phase metallic Co peaks (either $fcc$ or $hcp$) in the XRD patterns. The two sets of CoTe$_x$ films were grown on various substrates with PLD targets having Co:Te in the atomic ratio of 50:50 and 35:65. From the measured lattice parameters $c = 5.396 \AA$ for the former and $c = 5.402\AA$ for the latter, the compositions CoTe$_{1.71}$ (63.1% Te) and CoTe$_{1.76}$ (63.8% Te), respectively, are assigned to the principal phase. Although XRD shows no trace of metallic Co second phase, the magnetic measurements do show a ferromagnetic contribution for both sets of films with the saturation magnetization values for the CoTe$_{1.71}$ films being approximately four times the values for the CoTe$_{1.76}$ films. $^{59}$Co spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) clearly shows the existence of metallic Co inclusions in the films. The source of weak ferromagnetism reported in several recent studies is due to the presence of metallic Co, since the stoichiometric composition "CoTe" does not exist.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Science-based restoration monitoring of coastal habitats, Volume Two: Tools for monitoring coastal habitats

Healthy coastal habitats are not only important ecologically; they also support healthy coastal communities and improve the quality of people’s lives. Despite their many benefits and values, coastal habitats have been systematically modified, degraded, and destroyed throughout the United States and its protectorates beginning with European colonization in the 1600’s (Dahl 1990). As a result, many coastal habitats around the United States are in desperate need of restoration. The monitoring of restoration projects, the focus of this document, is necessary to ensure that restoration efforts are successful, to further the science, and to increase the efficiency of future restoration efforts

Lysozyme activity during adaptation to soft contact lenses

Lysozyme previously has been shown to be reduced from normal levels following ocular pathology, irritation, or hard contact lens wear. Utilizing a spectropholometric method to measure the activity of human tear lysozyme against a living bacterial substrate, we compared the activities in a group of new soft contact lens wearers during an adaptation period of two weeks with activities from a group of non-contact lens wearers. We found no significant difference in the tear lysozyme activities between the two groups but found a stabilizing effect of soft lens wear upon random activity variations

Io's polar volcanic thermal emission indicative of magma ocean and shallow tidal heating models

The distribution of Io's volcanic activity likely reflects the position and magnitude of internal tidal heating. We use new observations of Io's polar regions by the Juno spacecraft Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) to complete near-infrared global coverage, revealing the global distribution and magnitude of thermal emission from Io's currently erupting volcanoes. We show that the distribution of volcanic heat flow from 266 active hot spots is consistent with the presence of a global magma ocean, and/or shallow asthenospheric heating. We find that Io's polar volcanoes are less energetic but about the same in number per unit area than at lower latitudes. We also find that volcanic heat flow in the north polar cap is greater than that in the south. The low volcanic advection seen at Io's poles is therefore at odds with measurements of background temperature showing Io's poles are anomalously warm. We suggest that the differences in volcanic thermal emission from Io's poles compared to that at lower latitudes is indicative of lithospheric dichotomies that inhibit volcanic advection towards Io's poles, particularly in the south polar region.Comment: 17 pages, two tables, 7 figure

Impact of public release of performance data on the behaviour of healthcare consumers and providers.

BACKGROUND: It is becoming increasingly common to publish information about the quality and performance of healthcare organisations and individual professionals. However, we do not know how this information is used, or the extent to which such reporting leads to quality improvement by changing the behaviour of healthcare consumers, providers, and purchasers. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effects of public release of performance data, from any source, on changing the healthcare utilisation behaviour of healthcare consumers, providers (professionals and organisations), and purchasers of care. In addition, we sought to estimate the effects on healthcare provider performance, patient outcomes, and staff morale. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and two trials registers on 26 June 2017. We checked reference lists of all included studies to identify additional studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: We searched for randomised or non-randomised trials, interrupted time series, and controlled before-after studies of the effects of publicly releasing data regarding any aspect of the performance of healthcare organisations or professionals. Each study had to report at least one main outcome related to selecting or changing care. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened studies for eligibility and extracted data. For each study, we extracted data about the target groups (healthcare consumers, healthcare providers, and healthcare purchasers), performance data, main outcomes (choice of healthcare provider, and improvement by means of changes in care), and other outcomes (awareness, attitude, knowledge of performance data, and costs). Given the substantial degree of clinical and methodological heterogeneity between the studies, we presented the findings for each policy in a structured format, but did not undertake a meta-analysis. MAIN RESULTS: We included 12 studies that analysed data from more than 7570 providers (e.g. professionals and organisations), and a further 3,333,386 clinical encounters (e.g. patient referrals, prescriptions). We included four cluster-randomised trials, one cluster-non-randomised trial, six interrupted time series studies, and one controlled before-after study. Eight studies were undertaken in the USA, and one each in Canada, Korea, China, and The Netherlands. Four studies examined the effect of public release of performance data on consumer healthcare choices, and four on improving quality.There was low-certainty evidence that public release of performance data may make little or no difference to long-term healthcare utilisation by healthcare consumers (3 studies; 18,294 insurance plan beneficiaries), or providers (4 studies; 3,000,000 births, and 67 healthcare providers), or to provider performance (1 study; 82 providers). However, there was also low-certainty evidence to suggest that public release of performance data may slightly improve some patient outcomes (5 studies, 315,092 hospitalisations, and 7502 providers). There was low-certainty evidence from a single study to suggest that public release of performance data may have differential effects on disadvantaged populations. There was no evidence about effects on healthcare utilisation decisions by purchasers, or adverse effects. AUTHORS\u27 CONCLUSIONS: The existing evidence base is inadequate to directly inform policy and practice. Further studies should consider whether public release of performance data can improve patient outcomes, as well as healthcare processes