Views of Community Corrections Supervision and Their Predictors: An Officer and Offender Comparison

Appropriate supervision strategies are the backbone of community corrections. The success of community supervision is dependent upon the attitudes of both officers and offenders. Despite this, research on offenders’ attitudes toward community corrections supervision is surprisingly very limited. The current study investigated attitudes of officers and offenders toward and predictors of four different community supervision strategies based on data collected in Hubei, China, in 2103 and 2016. The study found that among demographics, community variables, and value factor, the mutual trust value factor was the most important predictor of community supervision strategies by both officers and offenders. Additional findings and policy implications are discussed.

A field test of the dilution effect hypothesis in four avian multi-host pathogens

The Dilution Effect Hypothesis (DEH) argues that greater biodiversity lowers the risk of disease and reduces the rates of pathogen transmission since more diverse communities harbour fewer competent hosts for any given pathogen, thereby reducing host exposure to the pathogen. DEH is expected to operate most intensely in vector-borne pathogens and when species-rich communities are not associated with increased host density. Overall, dilution will occur if greater species diversity leads to a lower contact rate between infected vectors and susceptible hosts, and between infected hosts and susceptible vectors. Field-based tests simultaneously analysing the prevalence of several multi-host pathogens in relation to host and vector diversity are required to validate DEH. We tested the relationship between the prevalence in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) of four vector-borne pathogens–three avian haemosporidians (including the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium and the malaria-like parasites Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) and West Nile virus (WNV)–and vertebrate diversity. Birds were sampled at 45 localities in SW Spain for which extensive data on vector (mosquitoes) and vertebrate communities exist. Vertebrate censuses were conducted to quantify avian and mammal density, species richness and evenness. Contrary to the predictions of DEH, WNV seroprevalence and haemosporidian prevalence were not negatively associated with either vertebrate species richness or evenness. Indeed, the opposite pattern was found, with positive relationships between avian species richness and WNV seroprevalence, and Leucocytozoon prevalence being detected. When vector (mosquito) richness and evenness were incorporated into the models, all the previous associations between WNV prevalence and the vertebrate community variables remained unchanged. No significant association was found for Plasmodium prevalence and vertebrate community variables in any of the models tested. Despite the studied system having several characteristics that should favour the dilution effect (i.e., vector-borne pathogens, an area where vector and host densities are unrelated, and where host richness is not associated with an increase in host density), none of the relationships between host species diversity and species richness, and pathogen prevalence supported DEH and, in fact, amplification was found for three of the four pathogens tested. Consequently, the range of pathogens and communities studied needs to be broadened if we are to understand the ecological factors that favour dilution and how often these conditions occur in nature.

An Ex Post Facto Study Examining Implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Across School and Community Variables From an Inclusive Innovation Perspective

Schools implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) with fidelity demonstrate a wealth of student and school benefits. At the same time, there exists limited research from an inclusive innovation perspective: examining whether schools and communities have equitable access to PBIS based on sociodemographic school and community variables. This article presents the results of an ex post facto research design examining PBIS implementation and access across sociodemographic school and community variables from an inclusive innovation lens, examining data from schools ( N = 489) in the state of Georgia. The significant interaction effects revealed that between both PBIS and non-PBIS schools, those located in suburban areas had significantly higher median household incomes compared with rural and urban schools. Additional findings included the following: PBIS rural schools had higher household incomes and lower percentages of free/reduced-price lunch than non-PBIS schools in rural communities; and PBIS schools included significantly higher proportions of students who identified as White compared with non-PBIS schools.

Risk of COVID-19-related bullying, harassment and stigma among healthcare workers: an analytical cross-sectional global study

ObjectivesEssential healthcare workers (HCW) uniquely serve as both COVID-19 healers and, potentially, as carriers of SARS-CoV-2. We assessed COVID-19-related stigma and bullying against HCW controlling for social, psychological, medical and community variables.DesignWe nested an analytical cross-sectional study of COVID-19-related stigma and bullying among HCW within a larger mixed-methods effort assessing COVID-19-related lived experience and impact. Adjusted OR (aOR) and 95% CIs evaluated the association between working in healthcare settings and experience of COVID-19-related bullying and stigma, controlling for confounders. Thematic qualitative analysis provided insight into lived experience of COVID-19-related bullying.SettingWe recruited potential participants in four languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian) through Amazon Mechanical Turk’s online workforce and Facebook.ParticipantsOur sample included 7411 people from 173 countries who were aged 18 years or over.FindingsHCW significantly experienced more COVID-19-related bullying after controlling for the confounding effects of job-related, personal, geographic and sociocultural variables (aOR: 1.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0). HCW more frequently believed that people gossip about others with COVID-19 (OR: 2.2; 95% CI 1.9 to 2.6) and that people with COVID-19 lose respect in the community (OR: 2.3; 95% CI 2.0 to 2.7), both which elevate bullying risk (OR: 2.7; 95% CI 2.3 to 3.2, and OR: 3.5; 95% CI 2.9 to 4.2, respectively). The lived experience of COVID-19-related bullying relates frequently to public identities as HCW traverse through the community, intersecting with other domains (eg, police, racism, violence).InterpretationAfter controlling for a range of confounding factors, HCW are significantly more likely to experience COVID-19-related stigma and bullying, often in the intersectional context of racism, violence and police involvement in community settings.

Relación entre la adicción al ejercicio, el uso de dispositivos fitness y la ansiedad rasgo (Relationship between exercise addiction, use of fitness devices and trait anxiety)

El reciente auge de la tecnología y su protagonismo en el mundo del fitness han desencadenado la publicación de libros e investigaciones científicas. Además, la reciente preocupación de muchos investigadores por la adicción al ejercicio y sus consecuencias para la salud aumentan la importancia de investigar si estas variables (tecnología, adicción al ejercicio y salud) podrían estar relacionadas de algún modo. Por ello, el objetivo del presente estudio fue investigar si existe o no una asociación entre el uso de dispositivos fitness, la adicción al ejercicio y la ansiedad-rasgo. Para llevar a cabo el presente estudio se analizó una muestra de 102 usuarios de centros deportivos con una media de 30 años de edad, a los cuales se les proporcionó cuestionarios para evaluar el uso de las tecnologías, la adicción al ejercicio (Exercise Addiction Inventory) y el nivel de ansiedad-rasgo (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Los resultados mostraron que la mayoría de los sujetos de centros fitness empleaban tecnologías durante sus entrenamientos, siendo mayor el porcentaje de hombres que hacían uso de ellas que de hombres. También se hallaron interesantes correlaciones entre la edad y la adicción al ejercicio físico, así como entre ansiedad-rasgo y adicción al ejercicio físico. Con respecto a qué dispositivos son los más utilizados, los wearables y las apps móviles obtuvieron el mayor porcentaje. No obstante, se hacen necesarias más investigaciones experimentales con muestras más amplias que evalúen un mayor rango de variables asociadas a la salud. Abstract. Recently, the growth of technology and its prominent importance in the world of fitness have triggered the publication of several books and research papers. Moreover, there are a strong concern about exercise addiction and its health consequences among the research community. Variables such as technology, exercise addiction and health could be related with the issue. This study aims at investigating whether there is an association between the use of fitness devices, exercise addiction and trait anxiety. The investigation analyzes a simple of 102 users of fitness centers located in Zaragoza with a mean age of 30 years old. The study uses different questionnaires in order to evaluate: i) the use of technology (own questionnaire), ii) exercise addiction (Exercise Addiction Inventory) and iii) the level of trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Results indicates that most of the users use technology during their training sessions, being larger the percentage of men than women. Further, interesting associations between age and exercise addiction were found, as well as, between trait anxiety and exercise addiction. In addition, the study highlights that wearables and mobile apps are the trendy devices. Nevertheless, greater range of variables associated with health calls for more experimental studies with larger samples.

PENGARUH RELIGIUSITAS DAN KOMUNITAS TERHADAP MOTIVASI BERWIRAUSAHA PARA PEMUDA

The purposes of the study were to determine how the influence of religion and community on the entrepreneurial motivation of youth. The data used in this study are primary data as many as 20 young people as a sample who are members of the hijrah youth community Padang Gantiang Batusangkar. Data obtained by interview technique through questionnaire using Likert scale. The research model is multiple linear regression by making religion and community as independent variables while entrepreneurial motivation is the dependent variable. The data is then processed with the SPSS program to answer research questions. The results indicated that there is a significant influence between religiosity and entrepreneurial motivation of youth, while community variables do not significantly influence the entrepreneurial motivation of youth. The results of this study explain that to build entrepreneurial motivation for youth, the role of religiosity is needed

Financial inclusion, shocks and coping strategies: survey evidence from Uganda

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles that access formal and informal finance as well as mobile money play in facilitating the choice of coping strategies that households adopt. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology considers the estimation of binary outcome maximum likelihood probit models for each coping strategy on a vector of covariates that include measures of financial inclusion, household characteristics and community variables. Findings The author finds that financial inclusion is associated with a higher likelihood of adopting market-oriented strategies such as selling assets or borrowing and lower likelihood for non-market strategies such as reliance on informal networks and reducing consumption. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper provides the first empirical attempt examining the pathways through which financial inclusion may facilitate the choice of coping strategies using nuanced household data.

Modeling the Influence of Outflow and Community Structure on an Endangered Fish Population in the Upper San Francisco Estuary

The aim of this community modeling study was to evaluate potential mechanisms by which freshwater outflow in the upper San Francisco Estuary, CA, controls the fall habitat and abundance of subadult delta smelt Hypomesus transpacificus and its community. Through analyses of the community matrix, community stability and the direction of change of community variables were qualitatively and quantitatively modeled under four outflow–input scenarios. Three subsystems were modeled in the low salinity zone (1–6 psu), each overlapping the location corresponding to the distance from the mouth of the estuary to upstream positions where the near-bottom 2 psu isohaline (X2) is at 74, 81, and 85 km (corresponding to high-, mid-, and low-outflows). Results suggested communities were qualitatively stable at each X2 position, but simulations showed the percent of stable models decreased from low- to high-X2 positions. Under all outflow–input scenarios, the predicted qualitative population responses of delta smelt were: (1) consistently positive for the low X2 position, and (2) uncertain under both mid- and high-X2 positions. Qualitative predictions were generally consistent with quantitative simulations and with the relations between relative abundance of delta smelt and X2. Thus, high outflow seems beneficial to subadult delta smelt when X2 reaches 74 km during fall.

Reproducibility of Cognitive Profiles in Psychosis Using Cluster Analysis

Objectives:Cognitive dysfunction is a core symptom dimension that cuts across the psychoses. Recent findings support classification of patients along the cognitive dimension using cluster analysis; however, data-derived groupings may be highly determined by sampling characteristics and the measures used to derive the clusters, and so their interpretability must be established. We examined cognitive clusters in a cross-diagnostic sample of patients with psychosis and associations with clinical and functional outcomes. We then compared our findings to a previous report of cognitive clusters in a separate sample using a different cognitive battery.Methods:Participants with affective or non-affective psychosis (n=120) and healthy controls (n=31) were administered the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, and clinical and community functioning assessments. Cluster analyses were performed on cognitive variables, and clusters were compared on demographic, cognitive, and clinical measures. Results were compared to findings from our previous report.Results:A four-cluster solution provided a good fit to the data; profiles included a neuropsychologically normal cluster, a globally impaired cluster, and two clusters of mixed profiles. Cognitive burden was associated with symptom severity and poorer community functioning. The patterns of cognitive performance by cluster were highly consistent with our previous findings.Conclusions:We found evidence of four cognitive subgroups of patients with psychosis, with cognitive profiles that map closely to those produced in our previous work. Clusters were associated with clinical and community variables and a measure of premorbid functioning, suggesting that they reflect meaningful groupings: replicable, and related to clinical presentation and functional outcomes. (JINS, 2018,24, 382–390)