'Prove me the bam!': victimization and agency in the lives of young women who commit violent offences

This article reviews the evidence regarding young women’s involvement in violent crime and, drawing on recent research carried out in HMPYOI Cornton Vale in Scotland, provides an overview of the characteristics, needs and deeds of young women sentenced to imprisonment for violent offending. Through the use of direct quotations, the article suggests that young women’s anger and aggression is often related to their experiences of family violence and abuse, and the acquisition of a negative worldview in which other people are considered as being 'out to get you' or ready to 'put one over on you'. The young women survived in these circumstances, not by adopting discourses that cast them as exploited victims, but by drawing on (sub)cultural norms and values which promote pre-emptive violence and the defence of respect. The implications of these findings for those who work with such young women are also discussed

Central Corneal Thickness and Glaucoma Risk: The Importance of Corneal Pachymetry in Screening Adults Over 50 and Glaucoma Suspects

David Agbato,1 Kara Rickford,2 Daniel Laroche3,4 1CUNY School of Medicine, The City College of New York, New York, NY, USA; 2School of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA; 3Department of Ophthalmology, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; 4Advanced Eye Care of New York, New York, NY, USACorrespondence: Daniel Laroche, Advanced Eye Care of New York, 49 West 127th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA, Tel +1 212-663-0473, Email [email protected]: Glaucoma is a leading cause of preventable blindness, yet nearly half of those affected are unaware of their diagnosis. Individuals with glaucoma may present with “normal” or “lower” intraocular pressure (IOP) compared to typical glaucoma thresholds, due in large part to many of these individuals having thin corneas. Conversely, many with elevated IOP and thicker corneas may not necessarily have glaucoma. In this article, we review the importance of central corneal thickness (CCT) and corneal pachymetry devices in eye care. Additionally, we review the role of corneal thickness as a risk factor for glaucoma and glaucoma progression. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for articles and reviews on corneal pachymetry and its use in glaucoma, corneal biomechanics and refractive surgery, and glaucoma screening. The results of this review revealed that CCT is a risk factor for development of glaucoma, and in eyes suspected of glaucoma, corneal pachymetry can be performed by trained technicians to provide important information related to the risk of acquiring glaucoma and/or having other ocular diseases. Additionally, a lower CCT is associated with an increased risk of progression and faster rates of visual field loss in eyes with glaucoma. This review will provide evidence regarding the importance of performing corneal pachymetry on all persons over the age of 50 as part of a comprehensive eye examination to better identify those patients who have glaucoma or are glaucoma suspects.Key Points: CCT has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of glaucoma in eyes suspected of glaucoma.CCT may act as a biomarker for tissues linked to glaucoma, including the lamina cribrosa and peripapillary sclera.A lower CCT is associated with an increased risk of progression and faster rates of visual field loss in eyes with glaucoma.By measuring age, CCT and IOP with the Laroche Glaucoma Calculator, there is a strong relationship for detecting persons at higher risk for glaucoma.Practitioners should consider measuring central corneal thickness in all patients over the age of 50, those at risk for glaucoma, as well as in those already diagnosed with the disease.Keywords: glaucoma, corneal pachymetry, screening, corneal thicknes

You Know What It Is: Learning Words through Listening to Hip-Hop

Music listeners have difficulty correctly understanding and remembering song lyrics. However, results from the present study support the hypothesis that young adults can learn African-American English (AAE) vocabulary from listening to hip-hop music. Non-African-American participants first gave free-response definitions to AAE vocabulary items, after which they answered demographic questions as well as questions addressing their social networks, their musical preferences, and their knowledge of popular culture. Results from the survey show a positive association between the number of hip-hop artists listened to and AAE comprehension vocabulary scores. Additionally, participants were more likely to know an AAE vocabulary item if the hip-hop artists they listen to use the word in their song lyrics. Together, these results suggest that young adults can acquire vocabulary through exposure to hip-hop music, a finding relevant for research on vocabulary acquisition, the construction of adolescent and adult identities, and the adoption of lexical innovations

Role Models or Gateways to Resources?: Contemporary Confusions in Mentoring Practice

Mentoring has become increasingly popular in recent years in the criminal justice system, presented across the UK and internationally as a service that can address the specific ‘needs’ of women involved with the criminal justice system. This article draws on original qualitative research with mentors and mentees to explore their experiences and to establish the aims and processes of mentoring. The rhetoric of mentoring offered by mentors and staff suggested that mentoring was based on an individualistic approach that contained responsibilising strategies. In practice, however, mentors were helping women to resolve issues related to the welfare system and other services outwith the criminal justice system. If positive outcomes of mentoring are viewed by policy makers to be the result of an individualistic approach aimed at fostering ‘pro-social’ interventions, rather than the result of attempts to mitigate wider structural failures outwith the criminal justice system, then this takes responsibility away from the state and distracts from the deeper effects of criminalising processes

Corpora from a sociolinguistic perspective

In this paper, I consider the use of corpora in sociolinguistic research and, more broadly, the relationships between corpus linguistics and sociolinguistics. I consider the distinction between "conventional" and "unconventional" corpora (Beal et al. 2007a, b) and assess why conventional corpora have not had more traction in sociolinguistics. I then discuss the potential utility of corpora for sociolinguistic study in terms of the recent trajectory of sociolinguistic research interests (Eckert under review), acknowledging that, while many sociolinguists are increasingly using more advanced corpus-based techniques, many are, at the same time, moving away from corpus-like studies. I suggest two primary areas where corpus developers, both sociolinguistic and non-, could focus to develop more useful corpora: Corpora containing a wider range of non-standard (spoken) varieties and more flexible annotation and treatment of spoken language data.Neste artigo considero o uso de corpora na pesquisa sociolingüística e, de modo mais geral, a relação entre a linguística de corpus e a sociolinguística. Reflito sobre a distinção entre corpora "convencionais" e "não-convencionais" (BEAL ET AL. 2007 a, b) e avalio o porquê de corpora convencionais não terem atraído mais atenção no campo da sociolinguística. Na sequência, discuto a utilidade potencial de corpora para os estudos sociolingüísticos em termos da trajetória recente que tem sido adotada pela pesquisa nesta área (ECKHERT, em avaliação), reconhecendo que, se por um lado, muitos sociolinguistas têm ampliado o seu uso de técnicas avançadas da linguística de corpus, por outro, muitos estão, ao mesmo tempo, se afastando de estudos relaciados a corpora. Sugiro duas áreas principais nas quais compiladores de corpora, independentemente de serem sociolingüísticos ou não, poderiam enfocar para desenvolverem corpora mais úteis: corpora contendo uma amplitude maior de variedades (faladas )não-padrão e um esquema mais flexível de anotação e tratamento de dados orais

Risk-based equity requirements: how equity rules for the financial sector can be applied to the real economy

It is undisputed that rules are necessary to cope with the risks of failing financial institutions in the financial sector. These rules link the risk profile of a financial institution to the quanti-tative and qualitative properties of its capital. In the real economy the discussion proceeds from the opposite direction, putting the necessity of a minimal capital and its regulation into question. This essay shows however, that even for the real economy, rules are in place which require the board of a company to adjust the risk profile to the level and structure of the com-pany’s equity and vice versa. The relationship between risk-bearing ability and equity leads to a set of principles and rules on how to determine the correct amount of equity. The essay de-scribes these rules and their procedural enforcement based on company and accounting law rules

Neglecting the mental health of prisoners

From first contact with the police to release from prison, people with mental ill health who come into conflict with the law often find that their mental health needs are neglected while they are under the authority of the criminal justice system. In 2008, the Prison Reform Trust surveyed independent monitoring boards in England and Wales, asking them to comment on mental health care. Topics included the adequacy of court diversion schemes, assessments carried out in prison reception units, and preparations to ensure continuity of care upon release. The responses documented some of the consequences of neglect in prisons in England and Wales. Over half of the boards felt that they frequently saw prisoners who were too ill to be in prison. Boards also expressed concerns about assessment processes in prison reception areas, which were by no means adequate to identify mental health problems. A number of boards stated that, too often, people with severe mental illnesses are held in segregation units, where they endure an impoverished regime. The boards observed that many prisons lack any means of identifying people who have learning disabilities, and often their disabilities restrict their capacity to engage fully with the regime.</jats:p