A National Picture of Prison Downsizing Strategies

Abstract

Many states faced fiscal pressures on their corrections budgets as the country entered a deep recession in 2008. A 2011 survey by the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) asked corrections officials in all 50 states about changes in correctional facilities, focusing on closures, new facilities, and altering existing facilities as a response to budget pressures. States employed a combination of these strategies. Between fiscal year (FY) 2007–2008 and FY 2011–2012, 148 facilities were closed, 29 new facilities were opened, and 23 states added 22,740 beds to existing facilities, resulting in about a 19,000 net bed reduction overall. Closures did not necessarily appear to be related to fiscal pressures or always related to reductions in the prison population. Despite the Great Recession, correctional funding is still a large part of state expenses and many states’ correctional populations continue to grow.     

The Changing Picture of Depressive Syndromes in Africa

Cet article a pour objectif d'examiner le rôle des arguments identitaires de type ethnique dans la mise en place de la démocratie consociative, à partir du cas mauricien. Les théories de la consociation présentent généralement la surenchère identitaire comme une dérive des systèmes consociatifs. Mais nous verrons qu'à l'île Maurice, où la consociation a permis la transition politique de la société plurale vers l'indépendance (1947–1968), l'argument d'un “péril hindou”, agité par les opposants à l'indépendance, a constitué, malgré son caractère stigmatisant, un mécanisme à part entière, voire même un régulateur du fonctionnement de la démocratie mauricienne.     

翱翔太空的侦探--"图像侦察卫星"

图像侦察卫星(也称照相侦察卫星)是利用所携带的光学遥感器和微波遥感器拍摄地面一定范围内的物体来产生高分辨率图像的卫星.     

中东和平:按图能否索骥

伊拉克战后不久,美国4月30日正式公布中东和平“路线图”计划。5月,美国国务卿鲍威尔两次访问中东;6月初,美国总统布什进行首次中东之行,推动实施该计划。巴以双方都做     

1993 health guide. Top 10 health stories to watch

A sea change seems likely in the way health care is delivered. In medicine, public health and nutrition, here's what else the year will bring.     

Reform: health care

The Italian National Health Service was established in 1978 as three-tier system, involving State, Regions, USLs (Unità sanitarie locali, Local Health Care Units). The division between the responsibility of determining the general features of health care policy and financing it, on one side (the State), and that of managing services, on the order side (Regions and USLs), was bound to lead to increasing levels of expenditure and large financial deficits. An important reform has been carried out over the last five years, aiming toward a more decentralized system, which, although still public, were based on competition among suppliers and free choice for consumers. We argue that although the reform seems to have been successful in containing public expenditure, it has left some important issues still unresolved: the relationship between patients' freedom of choice and competition among providers, and the definition of a model of rationing the bundle of health services financed by the public sector.     

Occupational safety and health

Work accidents became a matter of societal concern in the Progressive era of Woodrow Wilson. When other contingencies of modern life were brought under social security in the New Deal reforms of the 1930s, work accident legislation remained separate. One possible reason was that work accidents can be controlled within industrial and chance limits. But control does not imply elimination since a risk-free environment would paralyze production. In spite of imperfections caused by low benefits and imperfect insurance arrangements, the workers' compensation legislation does help internalize the costs of accidents, but internalization of costs is only one remedy. Regulation and a much broader community responsibility are others. It is argued that regulation poses greater problems and that broader community responsibility may evade the issues involved in choosing the appropriate tradeoff point between production and health which will maximize social welfare.     

Top ten health trends

With advances in medicine, science and technology coming fast and furious, today's bold ideas could easily be tomorrow's standard operating procedures. To keep you abreast of developments in medicine, fitness and nutrition, U.S. News has identified the 10 most important health trends for the coming year. From gene therapy to patients' rights, here's a look at what's ahead.