Retail medical clinics: increasing access to low cost medical care amongst a developing legal environment

Retail medical clinics are an innovation in health care with the potential to increase access to low-cost basic health care services while changing the delivery model for routine, non-urgent medical care. However, the few states that attempted to directly regulate retail medical clinics have been met with criticism by the FTC due to the proposed legislations' anticompetitive undertones. The relationship between retail medical clinics and the host stores or pharmacies that house them has the potential to spark fraud and abuse concerns. Retail medical clinics must abide by state-specific regulation on scope of practice of the various mid-level practitioners who work for the clinics, particularly to minimize exposure to litigation and keep within the clinics' intended purpose of a supplement to primary care physician offices. The author concludes that the consumer benefits of cost and convenience, combined with the potential for growth and expanded consumer base from a retailers' perspective, make the legal challenge inherent in running a retail medical clinic well worth the effort.     

A Meta-Analytic Review of Pretrial Research: Risk Assessment,Bond Type,and Interventions

This study makes an attempt to aggregate what we currently know about pretrial decision making and jurisdictions’ responses to the pretrial population. This meta-analysis began with an exhaustive search for pretrial research which may have revealed the most prominent finding—that being a distinct lack of research that utilizes any amount of methodological rigor. The findings of this meta-analysis hold several policy implications for the field of pretrial research and practice. First, future research studies in the field of pretrial need to focus on methodological quality and rigor. Second, it appears that some conditions of release may be related to a defendant’s likelihood of failure to appear. Third, it appears that none of the conditions of release reviewed in this study are related to a defendant’s likelihood of re-arrest while on pretrial release. Finally, it is recommended that the field of pretrial develop a sound research agenda and execute that plan with rigor, transparency, and an approach that favors the continued cumulation of knowledge. Strong conclusions about the impact of pretrial release conditions cannot be made as the quality of the pretrial research, overall, is weak at best.     

Color analysis of apparently achromatic automotive paints by visible microspectrophotometry

Chromatic secondary pigments are utilized in achromatic automotive paints to create unique paint systems. These pigments may not be observable in reflected light; however, utilizing visible microspectrophotometry (MSP) discriminating data may be gathered. This study analyzed 160 apparently achromatic automotive paints via this technique for spectral evidence of secondary pigmentation. These results were compared with visual observations made via polarizing light microscopy. Positive spectral results were attained in approximately 25% of the black and gray/silver topcoat sample sets, whereas the white topcoat and gray undercoat set yielded no probative spectral data. The black sample set did yield several samples that produced spectral evidence of pigmentation when no visual chromatic data was observed. The results of this study suggest that paint analysis schemes should incorporate visible MSP for apparently achromatic black and gray/silver paint samples.     

Assessing the impact of manufacturing extension center

This article summarizes results from the authors' evaluation of the first five years of operation of one of the first MEP centers—the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. The evaluation utilizes the Performance Benchmarking Service's proprietary database of quantitative measures of performance in 3000 smaller manufacturing plants. The results suggest that while clients are satisfied with MMTC services, nany of the center's projects are less than effective at achieving desired client outcomes and policy objectives. The article considers the implications of this finding both for program operation and future evaluation approaches.     

Policing Schools: Examining the Impact of Place Management Activities on School Violence

The present study examines whether the presence of school resource officers (SROs) and their level of involvement in place management activities are associated with higher or lower rates of school-based serious violence. This study uses data from the 2010 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) conducted by National Center for Educational Statistics. Propensity score matching is used to create a quasi-experimental design and isolate the influence of SROs and their level of involvement in place management activities on school-based serious violence. The analysis reveals that schools with a school resource officer are associated with higher rates of reported serious violence and those schools with SROs that participate in more place manager duties are also associated with higher rates of reported serious violence. These findings do not support the notion that SROs are acting as effective place managers and through this place management, reducing reported serious violence. Rather, it appears that the presences of a SRO and their execution of place manager duties is associated with an increase in the reporting of serious violence. Policy implications and limitations of the current research are also discussed.