scholarly journals Sentencing Federal Drug Offenders

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
Melissa Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Drug Users ◽  
Safety Valve ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Drug Offenders ◽  
Mandatory Minimums ◽  
Federal Judges ◽  
First Time

The Drug War ushered in harsh sentencing practices in the United States. The severity in penalties has been particularly salient in the federal criminal justice system. Increased statutory penalties and U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines led to drug users and traffickers serving longer periods of incarceration. As a result, the federal correctional system is overburdened. A noticeable change in attitude is evident. Congress has offered leniency for certain first-time drug offenders in the form of a statutory safety valve. While a progressive step, the safety valve applies to relatively few individuals. Importantly, federal judges have some discretion to reject what they might consider to be overly lengthy sentencing mandates. This Article provides an empirical study of sentencing statistics for drug offences. The sample derives from the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s fiscal year 2019 dataset of over 20,000 cases sentenced for drug crimes. Results show that judges employed various mechanisms to reduce statutory- and guidelines-based penalties. Strategies by judges include avoiding mandatory minimums (using the safety valve and otherwise), giving greater point reductions than permitted, and rejecting Commission policies. Over 60% of sentences were below the guidelines’ minimum recommendations. The consequences are beneficial in alleviating strain on the federal prison population, but create inconsistency in sentencing practices. A qualitative component supplements the quantitative. Judges, when issuing their statement of reasons for the sentence, may include textual comments. These comments provide valuable contextual information in how judges articulate their concerns with sanctions for drug offenders. Overall results present important policy considerations.

Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 2001

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne Chute ◽  
◽  
P. Elaine Kroe ◽  
Patricia O'Shea ◽  
Maria Polcari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fiscal Year

Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 1999

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne Chute ◽  
P. Elaine Kroe ◽  
Patricia Garner ◽  
Maria Polcari ◽  
Cynthia Jo Ramsey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fiscal Year

The Unusual Cruelty of Nursing Homes Behind Bars

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-271
Author(s):  
Rachel E. López
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Trained Staff ◽  
State Prisons ◽  
The Cost

The elderly prison population continues to rise along with higher rates of dementia behind bars. To maintain the detention of this elderly population, federal and state prisons are creating long-term care units, which in turn carry a heavy financial burden. Prisons are thus gearing up to become nursing homes, but without the proper trained staff and adequate financial support. The costs both to taxpayers and to human dignity are only now becoming clear. This article squarely addresses the second dimension of this carceral practice, that is the cost to human dignity. Namely, it sets out why indefinitely incarcerating someone with dementia or other neurocognitive disorders violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. This conclusion derives from the confluence of two lines of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. First, in Madison v. Alabama, the Court recently held that executing someone (in Madison’s case someone with dementia) who cannot rationally understand their sentence amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Second, in line with Miller v. Alabama, which puts life without parole (LWOP) sentences in the same class as death sentences due to their irrevocability, this holding should be extended to LWOP sentences. Put another way, this article explains why being condemned to life is equivalent to death for someone whose neurodegenerative disease is so severe that they cannot rationally understand their punishment.

The End of Empire and the Search for Justice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Linarelli ◽  
Margot E Salomon ◽  
Muthucumaraswamy Sornarajah
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Economic ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Economic Order ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Order ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Neoliberal Ideology ◽  
First Time

This chapter is a study of the themes of the New International Economic Order (NIEO). It begins with the notion of justice that had been constructed in imperial law to justify empire and colonialism. The NIEO was the first time a prescription was made for justice in a global context not based on domination of one people over another. In its consideration of the emergence of a new notion of justice in international law, the chapter discusses the reasons for the origins of the NIEO, and goes on to describe the principles of the NIEO and the extent to which they came into conflict with dominant international law as accepted by the United States and European states. Next the chapter deals with the rise of the neoliberal ideology that led to the displacement of the NIEO and examines the issue of whether the NIEO and its ideals have passed or whether they continue to be or should be influential in international law. Finally, the chapter turns to the ideas of the NIEO alongside new efforts at promoting a fuller account of justice by which to justify and evaluate international law.

scholarly journals Reserved Bed Program Reduces Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit Capacity Strain: An Implementation Study

Neurosurgery ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-138
Author(s):  
Christopher D Shank ◽  
Nicholas J Erickson ◽  
David W Miller ◽  
Brittany F Lindsey ◽  
Beverly C Walters
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Implementation Study ◽  
Service Line ◽  
Hospital Units ◽  
Significant Negative Impact ◽  
Operational Issues

Abstract BACKGROUND Neurosciences intensive care units (NICUs) provide institutional centers for specialized care. Despite a demonstrable reduction in morbidity and mortality, NICUs may experience significant capacity strain with resulting supraoptimal utilization and diseconomies of scale. We present an implementation study in the recognition and management of capacity strain within a large NICU in the United States. Excessive resource demand in an NICU creates significant operational issues. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of a Reserved Bed Pilot Program (RBPP), implemented to maximize economies of scale, to reduce transfer declines due to lack of capacity, and to increase transfer volume for the neurosciences service-line. METHODS Key performance indicators (KPIs) were created to evaluate RBPP efficacy with respect to primary (strategic) objectives. Operational KPIs were established to evaluate changes in operational throughput for the neurosciences and other service-lines. For each KPI, pilot-period data were compared to the previous fiscal year. RESULTS RBPP implementation resulted in a significant increase in accepted transfer volume to the neurosciences service-line (P = .02). Transfer declines due to capacity decreased significantly (P = .01). Unit utilization significantly improved across service-line units relative to theoretical optima (P < .03). Care regionalization was achieved through a significant reduction in “off-service” patient placement (P = .01). Negative externalities were minimized, with no significant negative impact in the operational KPIs of other evaluated service-lines (P = .11). CONCLUSION Capacity strain is a significant issue for hospital units. Reducing capacity strain can increase unit efficiency, improve resource utilization, and augment service-line throughput. RBPP implementation resulted in a significant improvement in service-line operations, regional access to care, and resource efficiency, with minimal externalities at the institutional level.

scholarly journals Autism Tsunami: the Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Blaxill ◽  
Toby Rogers ◽  
Cynthia Nevison
Keyword(s):  
Forecast Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Projections ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Total Base ◽  
Cost Categories ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe cost of ASD in the U.S. is estimated using a forecast model that for the first time accounts for the true historical increase in ASD. Model inputs include ASD prevalence, census population projections, six cost categories, ten age brackets, inflation projections, and three future prevalence scenarios. Future ASD costs increase dramatically: total base-case costs of $223 (175–271) billion/year are estimated in 2020; $589 billion/year in 2030, $1.36 trillion/year in 2040, and $5.54 (4.29–6.78) trillion/year by 2060, with substantial potential savings through ASD prevention. Rising prevalence, the shift from child to adult-dominated costs, the transfer of costs from parents onto government, and the soaring total costs raise pressing policy questions and demand an urgent focus on prevention strategies.

Sources of Information About Gestational Weight Gain, Diet, and Exercise Among Brazilian Immigrant Women Living in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽  
Qun Le ◽  
Denise Lima Nogueira ◽  
Márcia M. T. Machado ◽  
Mary L. Greaney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Gestational Weight Gain ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Gestational Weight ◽  
Diet And Exercise ◽  
First Time

Abstract Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess sources of information about gestational weight gain (GWG), diet, and exercise among first-time pregnant Brazilian women in the United States (US). Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Massachusetts, United States. Participants: First-time pregnant Brazilian women. Results: Eighty-six women, the majority of whom were immigrants (96.5%) classified as having low-acculturation levels (68%), participated in the study. Approximately two-thirds of respondents had sought information about GWG (72.1%), diet (79.1%), and exercise (74.4%) via the internet. Women classified as having low acculturation levels were more likely to seek information about GWG via the internet (OR = 7.55; 95% CI: 1.41, 40.26) than those with high acculturation levels after adjusting for age and receiving information about GWG from healthcare provider (doctor or midwife). Moreover, many respondents reported seeking information about GWG (67%), diet (71%), and exercise (52%) from family and friends. Women who self-identified as being overweight pre-pregnancy were less likely to seek information about diet (OR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.93) and exercise (OR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.96) from family and friends than those who self-identified being normal weight pre-pregnancy. Conclusions: This is the first study to assess sources of information about GWG, diet, and exercise among pregnant Brazilian immigrants in the US. Findings have implications for the design of interventions and suggest the potential of mHealth intervention as low-cost, easy access option for delivering culturally and linguistically tailored evidence-based information about GWG incorporating behavioral change practices to this growing immigrant group.

Business model of garment enterprises: a scientometric review

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1609-1626
Author(s):  
Yuran Jin ◽  
Xiangye Song ◽  
Jinhuan Tang ◽  
Xiaodong Dong ◽  
Huisheng Ji
Keyword(s):  
Conference Proceedings ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Business Models ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Citation Index ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fast Fashion ◽  
First Time

The research on the business model of garment enterprises (BMGE) has expanded rapidly in the last decade. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive reviews of it, let alone visual research. Based on scientometrics, in this paper 118 papers and their 4803 references from Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index—Science, and Conference Proceedings Citation Index—Social Science & Humanities for the period 2010–2020 about the BMGE were analyzed by visualizing the co-cited references, co-occurrence keywords, burst references, dual-map overlays, and more with CiteSpace, Google Maps, and VOSviewer. The research revealed the intellectual landscapes of the BMGE for the first time and mapped the landmark papers, hotspots and trends, national or regional distributions and their cooperation networks, highly cited authors, and prestigious journals and disciplines related to the BMGE. The results show that the biggest hotspot is the fast fashion business model; social responsibility, smart fashion, Internet of Things, and sharing fashion are the main emerging hotspots; and the research focuses has evolved from traditional business models to business models driven by new technologies, then to new issues such as circular economy models. The institutions are mainly distributed in China, the United States, and Western Europe, and there is cooperation between more than 11 countries. The most popular disciplines are economics and politics, while psychology, education, and social science are the essential basic disciplines. The Journal of Cleaner Production and Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, among others, actively promoted the research.

scholarly journals Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Training among Medical Schools in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110287
Author(s):  
Robert L. Cooper ◽  
Mohammad Tabatabai ◽  
Paul D. Juarez ◽  
Aramandla Ramesh ◽  
Matthew C. Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Injection Drug Users ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has been shown to be an effective method of HIV prevention for men who have sex with-men (MSM) and -transgender women (MSTGWs), serodiscordant couples, and injection drug users; however fewer than 50 000 individuals currently take this regimen. Knowledge of PrEP is low among healthcare providers and much of this lack of knowledge stems from the lack or exposure to PrEP in medical school. We conducted a cross sectional survey of medical schools in the United States to assess the degree to which PrEP for HIV prevention is taught. The survey consisted Likert scale questions assessing how well the students were prepared to perform each skill associated with PrEP delivery, as well as how PrEP education was delivered to students. We contacted 141 medical schools and 71 responded to the survey (50.4%). PrEP education was only reported to be offered at 38% of schools, and only 15.4% reported specific training for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) patients. The most common delivery methods of PrEP content were didactic sessions with 11 schools reporting this method followed by problem-based learning, direct patient contact, workshops, and small group discussions. Students were more prepared to provide PrEP to MSM compared to other high-risk patients. Few medical schools are preparing their students to prescribe PrEP upon graduation. Further, there is a need to increase the number of direct patient contacts or simulations for students to be better prepared.

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