The impact of illegal immigration and enforcement on border crime rates

Border crime rates lie consistently below the national average. In the 1990s, however, while there as a large decline in property-related crime along the U.S.-Mexico border, violent crime rates began to converge to the national average. At the same time, legal and illegal immigration from Mexico surged and border enforcement rose to unprecedented levels. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between border county crime rates, immigration and enforcement since the early 1990s. We find that while the volume of illegal immigration is not related to changes in property-related crime, there is a significant positive correlation with the incidence of violent crime. This is most likely due to extensive smuggling activity along the border. Border enforcement meanwhile is significantly negatively related to crime rates. The bad news is that the deterrent effect of the border patrol diminishes over this time period, and the net impact of more enforcement on border crime since the late 1990s is zero.Emigration and immigration ; Labor supply ; Crime

Commentary on session III: U.S.-Mexico remittances: recent trends and measurement issues

Summary and discussion of the three papers in this session: "Leveraging remittances for development" by Dilip Ratha; "Remittances and their microeconomic impacts: evidence from Latin America" by Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes; and "The relationship between international migration, trade, and development: some paradoxes and findings" by J. Edward Taylor. ; The rest of this commentary explores recent trends in U.S.?Mexico remittances, explaining how they are measured and comparing them with forecasts of remittances based on an econometric model and with trends in other developing countries.Emigration and immigration ; International trade ; Economic development ; Developing countries ; Emigrant remittances ; Econometric models ; Mexico

Teachers’ Perceptions of Training to Implement Gratitude Practices in the High School Classroom

In recent years, gratitude practices arising from positive psychology have increased in the classroom. Considering teachers’ vital role in creating an environment that fosters positive character development such as gratitude is critical because their own perceptions about gratitude and how well-prepared they are influences student engagement. Professional development involving gratitude interventions has not been well-researched through the lens of the teachers trained to implement these practices. The current study aimed to explore teachers’ experiences with professional development training to implement gratitude practices. Seligman’s theory of positive psychology grounded the study in understanding the development of character strengths and how mental well-being has evolved into positive education. A basic qualitative research approach was used, guided by the question of how teachers perceive that the training received supported the implementation of gratitude practices in the high school classroom. Six high school teachers from a public charter school in a Southwest region of Texas participated in professional development involving implementing gratitude practices in the classroom and were interviewed using semi-structured questions. A thematic analysis using coding was used to identify two main themes: (a) professional development (training received) and (b) implementing gratitude. The results found that most of the participants were dissatisfied with the approach to professional development regarding implementing gratitude. This study’s findings have potential implications for positive social change to enhance the knowledge of how best to support and prepare teachers to implement effective gratitude practices in the high school classroom

Feasibility and Acceptability of an English-as-a-Second Language Curriculum on Hepatitis B for Older Chinese American Immigrants

Asian immigrants to the U.S. have an increased prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection compared to native born individuals; an estimated 10 percent of Chinese immigrants are infected with HBV. Using qualitative data from focus groups, we developed an English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) curriculum that aimed to improve knowledge about key hepatitis B facts. The curriculum was pilot-tested among 56 students aged 50 and older from intermediate-level ESL classes at a community-based organization that serves Chinese immigrants. Post-curriculum data showed increases in knowledge that hepatitis B can cause liver cancer (73% at pre-test vs. 91% at post-test; p value = 0.01) and that individuals can be infected with hepatitis B for life (34% vs. 81%; p valu

Questing for Algebraic Mass Dimension One Spinor Fields

This work deals with new classes of spinors of mass dimension one in Minkowski spacetime. In order to accomplish it, the Lounesto classification scheme and the inversion theorem are going to be used. The algebraic framework shall be revisited by explicating the central point performed by the Fierz aggregate. Then the spinor classification is generalized in order to encompass the new mass dimension one spinors. The spinor operator is shown to play a prominent role to engender the new mass dimension one spinors, accordingly.Comment: 7 pages, final version to appear in Eur. Phys. J.

Space station integrated wall design and penetration damage control

A methodology was developed to allow a designer to optimize the pressure wall, insulation, and meteoroid/debris shield system of a manned spacecraft for a given spacecraft configuration and threat environment. The threat environment consists of meteoroids and orbital debris, as specified for an arbitrary orbit and expected lifetime. An overall probability of no penetration is calculated, as well as contours of equal threat that take into account spacecraft geometry and orientation. Techniques, tools, and procedures for repairing an impacted and penetrated pressure wall were developed and tested. These techniques are applied from the spacecraft interior and account for the possibility of performing the repair in a vacuum. Hypervelocity impact testing was conducted to: (1) develop and refine appropriate penetration functions, and (2) determine the internal effects of a penetration on personnel and equipment