The Impact of Community Oriented Policing in Omaha, Nebraska

Community oriented policing (COP) has been adopted by a number of police departments throughout the country as a new policing philosophy. Some of the departments have implemented it in high crime areas and others have used it city-wide. The Omaha, Nebraska Police Department is currently in the process of implementing COP in the entire city. This has occurred gradually since 1989 when 15 officers were assigned to work in Omaha’s low-income housing developments. In 1990 these officers formed the Selective Patrol Unit and started practicing community oriented policing. A bicycle patrol was added in 1992 and COP expanded to other parts of Omaha with the Weed and Seed program. The city-wide implementation started in December 1993. This paper is a preliminary analysis of COP in Omaha. Crime data and Omaha Conditions Surveys (OCS) from 1990 to 1994 were evaluated to determine if COP produced a change over time in crime and citizens’ answers to questions about crime and the police. The Omaha sample for the survey questions came from the Metropolitan portion of the OCS. The North Omaha portion of the OCS was used to select residents who lived in and around the Omaha Housing Authority’s (O.H.A.) low-income housing developments where the Selective Patrol Unit worked. The surveys didn’t indicate if respondents lived in or around the housing developments. So the O.H.A. sample contained individuals in the same zip codes as the housing developments with incomes below $10,000 per year. Because this sample may not represent the O.H.A. area, the findings may not reflect what is actually occurring there. Some of the data in the North Omaha portion of the OCS did not go beyond 1991 or the questions were not asked. Because of this I also looked for changes between whites and nonwhites or between the income categories. Four hypotheses were tested: (1) Crime would decrease over time in Omaha as COP was implemented. UCR crime date and victimization surveys were evaluated for changes over time. The Omaha data didn’t support the hypothesis. In the O.H.A. area the crime data did support the hypothesis, but the decrease in victimization rates was not statistically significant. Nonwhites support the hypothesis and whites do not. For income it was mixed. (2) Citizens will perceive crime as less of a problem as COP is implemented. Citizens’ perceptions of the crime situation and the priority of crime problems were evaluated. There was no support for the hypothesis in Omaha and the race data. However, there was support in the O.H.A. area and the lowest income category. (3) A decline in the fear of crime will occur. No support was found in Omaha, but support was found in the O.H.A. area, with nonwhites, and the$0-9,999 income category. (4) Citizens’ quality of interaction with the OPD officers would improve as measured by their attitudes, perceptions, and satisfaction with the OPD. There was no support in Omaha and a conclusion was hard to draw in the O.H.A. area. For nonwhites and the $0-9,999 income category there were some improvement not reflected in Omaha

Diaspora Times Two

Diaspora Times Two is a photographic journalistic study of Africans living in Guangzhou, China and Chinese in Accra, Ghana. The study focuses on two young men from the Gambia who are looking for low-wage work in Guangzhou and a house of five Chinese telecommunications workers employing Ghanaians in Accra. A micro approach was taken, seeking similarities and differences between the immigrants, making images that record details not found in a general photographic survey of the areas. The project brings together stories collected from both Africans and Asians, providing insights into the process of international relocation driven by economic challenges and opportunities. Diaspora Times Two is inspired by the work of Eugene Richards who builds brilliant compositions, pushing the edges and frame. Furthermore it draws significantly on the works of Gordon Parks. Alex Webb’s use of different elements to create a dynamic set of layers afforded a framework with which to recognize and make the opening image of the series of the two Ghanaian workers and three Chinese employers animating this project. I made connections in China on an earlier visit, however once on location I needed to adapt after learning that they would not work out; I was left on my own to go out into the field and make new contacts with potential subjects. In Ghana, I realized the need for a Chinese translator after discovering the difficulty of communicating and connecting with the Chinese community. Ghanaians and Chinese experienced similar communication difficulties reinforcing stereotypes and assumptions held by the one group about the other. These beliefs generally stopped people from connecting; however, when dialogue occurred, resultant insights broke down stereotypes and barriers between people. Discovery of beliefs held in common included how the Chinese, Gambians, and Ghanaians share a moral commitment to taking care of their parents or elders. The Chinese are building roads, universities helping to develop many African countries. China’s investment in Africa raises the question: Is China the new face of neocolonialism or will China avoid the mistakes of western colonial powers? It remains to be seen, but my research suggests that on a micro, person-to-person level, communication and dialogue is a first step toward breaking down cultural barriers and discovering common fundamental dreams, values, and hopes that can serve as a foundation for strong partnerships

Are You Beginning to See A Pattern Here? Family and Medical Discourses Shape the Story of Black Infant Mortality

Postmodern and poststructuralist theorizations of the interrelations of the particular and the universal have identified women\u27s bodies to be the last frontier for scientific discovery leading to and satisfying the modern compulsion to stabilize and control life from birth to death. This institutional ethnography of one city\u27s response to an elevated infant mortality rate among the babies of African American urban, impoverished women explores their discursive transformation from single mothers who cannot begin prenatal care before the second trimester because too few physicians will treat Medicaid patients, into sexually-immoral, illegaldrug- using women who deliberately harm their babies. The study locates an education campaign poster depicting these women as undisciplined, ignorant, irresponsible mothers who use drugs that kill their babies at the intersection of the family discourse of the good mother/bad mother dualism and the obstetrics discourse of the frail female body. At this site, the everyday experience of urban minority impoverished women doing the work of mothering is transformed into evidence of their natural maternal inadequacy

Untie my hands: the nurse practitioner, the restriction-freedom paradigm and legal implications of practice

The role of the nurse practitioner has been established in Australia since 1996 (Driscoll et al. 2005). During this time it has also been established that nurse practitioners provide a service that fills a gap in service provision (Gardner 2004). Nurse practitioners in Australia have proved themselves to be clinical experts in their chosen nursing field (Gardner 2004). In 2006 (RCNA 2006), an article stated that in order to fulfil their role nurse practitioners argued that their hands were tied due to the need for strict adherence to clinical practice guidelines and protocols. They argued that a nurse practitioner's ability to use clinical judgement was inhibited by the need for strict adherence to clinical practice guidelines and protocols. The above statements going to press provided the roots of this study, beginning with an historical-comparative examination of the emergence of the nurse practitioner role in five countries: USA, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. These findings were compared using analytical comparison in relation to education, registration, regulation, legal and professional issues and future possibilities. Field research examined the world of the nurse practitioner as seen through the eyes of four nurse practitioner participants in order to gain insight into this world, assisted by a qualitative interpretative approach and methodological theory. Data was collected from structured in-depth interviews using open ended questions. Thematic analysis of the data, alongside nurse practitioner research, revealed that to allow less stringent adherence to clinical practice guidelines would seem unlikely at the present time. Important issues that are apparent in preventing this less stringent approach include the need to ensure that nurse practitioners are fully aware of the Ipp Reforms enacted into Civil Liabilities legislation in 2005 and the relevance of other Torts in the daily clinical practice of the nurse practitioner. This would ensure that all nurse practitioners are more knowledgeable about these important areas of law

From Print to Podcasts : The Impact of News Consumption on Bias Toward Forensic Evidence

Building on previous legal psychology research in the areas of the CSI Effect and cultivation theory, this study explored variables related to news consumption habits and their possible impact on survey respondents’ valuation of forensic evidence. Regression models were analyzed using both sociodemographic controls and news consumption habits and preferences. Several sociodemographic controls were found to impact reliance on forensic evidence at a level of statistical significance including university affiliation category, gender identification, and experience working or interning in a criminal justice setting. Additionally, the model considering sources of news was found to relate to reliance on forensic evidence. Analysis of the correlation coefficients provided further insight into the possible relationship between variables that could be explored in future research on juror bias. Theoretical comparisons and policy implications were also discussed

Clinically Actionable Hypercholesterolemia and Hypertriglyceridemia in Children with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine the percentage of children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in whom intervention for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides was indicated based on National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines. STUDY DESIGN: This multicenter, longitudinal cohort study included children with NAFLD enrolled in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network. Fasting lipid profiles were obtained at diagnosis. Standardized dietary recommendations were provided. After 1 year, lipid profiles were repeated and interpreted according to National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction. Main outcomes were meeting criteria for clinically actionable dyslipidemia at baseline, and either achieving lipid goal at follow-up or meeting criteria for ongoing intervention. RESULTS: There were 585 participants, with a mean age of 12.8 years. The prevalence of children warranting intervention for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at baseline was 14%. After 1 year of recommended dietary changes, 51% achieved goal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 27% qualified for enhanced dietary and lifestyle modifications, and 22% met criteria for pharmacologic intervention. Elevated triglycerides were more prevalent, with 51% meeting criteria for intervention. At 1 year, 25% achieved goal triglycerides with diet and lifestyle changes, 38% met criteria for advanced dietary modifications, and 37% qualified for antihyperlipidemic medications. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-half of children with NAFLD met intervention thresholds for dyslipidemia. Based on the burden of clinically relevant dyslipidemia, lipid screening in children with NAFLD is warranted. Clinicians caring for children with NAFLD should be familiar with lipid management

Global Value Chains and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

Summary: Significant opportunities exist in the TTIP negotiations to strengthen the growth and development opportunities of the transatlantic economy particularly in the dimension of reducing non-tariff barriers by harmonizing product standards and opening up the market for services. Significant roadblocks continue to exist in plainly understanding the tradeoffs. The goal should be clearly stated in terms of the higher importance of moving toward more uniformity of standards rather than focusing on arguments about pushing the level of protection under the standards in a particular direction. There are also a number of key difficulties in opening the financial services marketplace. Most of the controversy is grounded in the approach to regulatory functions, operations, and dimension as both the US and the EU have not done a good job of coordinating their approaches to the recognized major regulatory restructuring needed in the post financial crisis era