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Does Walking the Beat Matter? The Impact of Local Police on Crime
No full textWhat components work to reduce crime? This has been an important field of research within economics over the last half of a century. Since Becker (1974) established the foundational framework, this science of crime economics has been expanded on. If criminals behave rationally, responding to incentives and punishment just as any other person in society, then crime deterrence becomes a question of reducing the benefit of crime and/or increasing the cost. This research examines the impact that the local police force, defined as a police force dedicated to one locality (the city’s sole police force not incorporated by a neighboring municipality or county), has on crime. By employing a series of Ordinary Least Squares analysis of Unified Crime Reports and census data taken from the local, state, and federal level, it is possible to determine if having a local police force has a significant correlation with crime. The extensions from this research provide insight into methods to deter crime, which is of great importance from a public policy perspective. Local police appear to be significant and deter crime. Future work should explore possible mechanisms relating to the differences that a local versus nonlocal police department may offer and how this works to shape the overall criminal behavior of a city
Examining Educators’ Attitudes of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
No full textIn October 2013, the House and the Senate officially approved the initiative for statewide implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics, and has been met with much hesitation and opposition from educators. To learn more about secondary mathematics teachers’ views of the mathematics standards and their preparedness in putting them into practice, Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics in conjunction with Hope College surveyed 100 secondary math teachers after participating in a 3-day Common Core-related conference. Attendees reported on a range of topics, including how prepared they felt to teach different student demographics, their familiarity with different math subjects’ standards, and what they felt would be helpful for improving their comfort with the CCSS in math classrooms. The results of Chisquared comparisons between the pretests and the posttests suggest results that most teachers felt familiar with what was expected of them. These secondary teachers felt their curricular materials were not aligned with the CCSS, and more targeted preparation was necessary. The student populations causing most concern were ESL and special education students. Finally, educators reported that more planning time, more time to collaborate with colleagues, and access to more CCSS curricular materials would be helpful to prepare for classroom implementation. Information from this study can be used to create more effective professional development sessions in the future
The Effects of Beta Alanine Supplementation on Bench Press Endurance and Isometric Core Endurance Following a 4-Week Training Program
No full textBeta-alanine has previously been shown to improve high-intensity exercise performance in active and sedentary individuals following a training program. The majority of current research pertains to the effects of beta-alanine supplementation on aerobic exercise following a prolonged training program. This study was designed to determine whether 4 weeks of beta-alanine supplementation (BA, n=11) combined with 3 days of resistance training per week would result in greater improvements in muscular endurance compared to placebo (PL, n=10). All participants completed the maximum number of bench press repetitions at 65% 1RM before being matched for muscular endurance and randomly assigned to either BA or PL. Training included 3 successive sets of pushups to muscular fatigue followed by 3 timed planks. It was hypothesized that betaalanine supplementation would improve bench press endurance and isometric core endurance due to its ergogenic properties of increasing muscle carnosine concentration. Results displayed improvements in bench press repetitions to failure at 65% 1RM in both groups, (pre: BA= 14.7 ± 1.0, PL=15.0 ± 1.1; post: BA=21.0 ± 1.1, PL=16.8 ± 1.2, p\u3c0.0001) with significantly greater improvements in the BA group (p \u3c 0.0001). Both groups improved in isometric core hold time (seconds) to failure (pre: BA = 51.3 ± 7.6, PL = 63.8 ± 8.0; post: BA = 69.4 ± 9.6, PL = 75.3 ± 10.1, p\u3c0.0001) but no significant difference existed between groups (p = 0.286). The study concluded that 4 weeks of beta-alanine supplementation combined with 4-weeks of muscular endurance training significantly increased bench press endurance at 65% 1RM
Bathsheba as an Object Lesson: Gender, Modernity and Biblical Examples in Wang Mingdao\u27s Sermons and Writings
No full textInsufficient Justification for Exclusion Prompts Compensatory Behavior
No full textThis experiment examined participants\u27 compensatory behavior toward an excluded stranger. Participants engaged in a four-person social introductions task and rank-ordered each other member of the group; the lowest ranked person was excluded from a subsequent game. Using a 2x2 design, participants were randomly assigned to a justification condition (insufficient vs. sufficient) and to an exclusion responsibility condition (responsible for exclusion vs. exclusion by random selection). Results revealed that after limited introductions (i.e., insufficient justification for one\u27s ranking decision), being responsible for the exclusion prompted compensatory behavior toward the excluded stranger. However, after extended introductions (i.e., sufficient justification of one\u27s ranking decision), participants did not compensate the excluded person. These results suggest that insufficient justification for exclusion may lead to compensatory behavior, when one is responsible for the exclusion
Quality of Life in Patients with a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)
No full textHeart failure (HF) is a debilitating disease that affects physical functioning and quality of life (QOL). A common procedure to increase QOL is the implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). HF patients are commonly included on the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) score which rates a patient’s functioning status. The purpose of this study was to describe the correlation between a patient’s functional status and their QOL before implantation and 3, 6, and 12 months after implantation in LVAD patients. Dorothy Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study because it focuses on a patient’s self-care ability, which is diminished in HF patients. Data was collected by LVAD coordinators and nurses using the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) before implantation and 3, 6, and 12 months after implantation. Demographic data, INTERMACS score, implantation device, and current status were also collected. This study took place in a large Michigan transplant clinic and had 127 participants. Analysis of data was completed using SPSS statistical software. Results show an increase of QOL from pre-implantation to 6 months after implantation. There is no statistical evidence of a correlation between a patients physical functioning and QOL, therapy, or gender. Limitations to this study included the small number of females in the study, one-site convenience sampling, and missing KCCQ forms. Nurses in the future can identify populations that are more likely to have a lower quality of life resulting from HF and assist them in improving QOL
Mimetic Theory Meets the Oxford Inklings: Girard, Lewis, Tolkien, Williams, and Barfield
Get PDFWhat might the authors known as the Oxford Inklings (J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield) have thought about René Girard’s mimetic theory, if they had had a chance to encounter it? All are among the most prominent Christian literary thinkers of the past century, but in the case of the topic of myth, one that is important to all of them, they take what seem like opposite views. This talk begins with the criticisms the Inklings might have of the anthropological orientation of mimetic theory because of their interest in lively representations of the supernatural. It then goes on to find common ground between them, beginning with their commitment to the Bible as a key to understanding history and human reality. In their understanding of myth, for instance, Girard and the Inklings can be seen as exploring the same view of human reality from opposite sides, the natural and the supernatural. The strongest connection is between Barfield’s understanding of what he called the evolution of consciousness and Girard’s understanding of hominization and the development of scientific thinking. Together, imagined conversation among these four thinkers opens promising avenues for responding to common Christian objections to mimetic theory and thinking about a more robust Christian metaphysics that would support and extend it
News from Hope College, Volume 47.2: December, 2015
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