Preventing School Shootings: The Effectiveness of Safety Measures

ABSTRACT

The tragedies at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook Elementary School catapulted concern about school shootings into the national spotlight. Calls for something to be done to protect our students, faculty, and staff became a salient concern for school administrators, with many schools hiring armed security officers, restricting access to campus buildings, installing metal detectors, and training individuals how to respond when a shooter enters school grounds. However, many of these security measures were implemented with little to no consultation of the empirical literature. This failure to enact evidence-based responses has had fiscal and latent consequences that are only now being discovered. This essay seeks to fill that void by examining the empirical evidence surrounding common security measures enacted in response to well-publicized school shootings and calling for the use of an evidence-based approach to school safety.     

Inside Quality: Examination of Quality Improvement Processes in Afterschool Youth Programs

Using a case study method, afterschool site leader experiences and organizational factors related to youth program quality improvement processes were examined. Responding to issues identified by site leaders, external technical assistance targeted both program structure and content. Staff beliefs of internal program quality standards, such as a mandatory focus on academics, affected learning and quality improvement processes. Hierarchical organizational program standards and supports, including internal self-assessments, did not appear to foster buy-in, learning, or site-based problem-solving for quality improvement. Results indicated the need for further examination of the theory of change and pedagogical approaches to quality technical assistance.     

Indigenous Feminisms in Canada

Abstract

This essay explores three case studies that show how Indigenous women enact the principles of Indigenous feminism by deploying the concept of active silence to bring attention to the social justice goals of Indigenous communities in Canada. It begins by defining Indigenous feminism and its broader objectives before turning to a discussion of the Sahtu Dene’s efforts to restore land polluted through uranium mining, Heiltsuk resistance to the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, and Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.     

Public Willingness to Downsize Prisons: Implications From Oregon

Abstract

After decades of the steady growth of inmate populations, the mass imprisonment movement has stalled and serious attempts are being undertaken to downsize prisons. At issue, however, is whether the American public will endorse this policy agenda. This issue is explored with data from a 2010 survey of 1,569 Oregon adults. On a broad level, the respondents favored a preventative-rehabilitative approach to crime control and endorsed a range of reentry services for inmates. Most significant, the sample supported specific policies, including community sanctions and several forms of early release, to reduce prison populations. Notably, however, they did not embrace downsizing for the purpose of lowering spending—a finding that should be explored in other states. These results indicate that, at least in Oregon, the public is willing to consider efforts to downsize prisons. Capitalizing on this public support remains the challenge to be addressed.     

Course and Severity of Maternal Depression: Associations with Family Functioning and Child Adjustment

Number of lifetime episodes, duration of current episode, and severity of maternal depression were investigated in relation to family functioning and child adjustment. Participants were the 151 mother–child pairs in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) child multi-site study. Mothers were diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder; children (80 males and 71 females) ranged in age from 7 to 17 years. Measures of child adjustment included psychiatric diagnoses, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and functional impairment. Measures of family functioning included family cohesion, expressiveness, conflict, organization, and household control; parenting measures assessed maternal acceptance and psychological control. Children of mothers with longer current depressive episodes were more likely to have internalizing and externalizing symptoms, with this association being moderated by child gender. Mothers with more lifetime depressive episodes were less likely to use appropriate control in their homes.

Will Black Lives Matter to the Police? African Americans’ Concerns about Trump’s Presidency

ABSTRACT

Based on a 2017 national survey of 1,000 Black Americans, perceptions regarding the implications of Donald Trump’s election as President on race relations, police-minority relations, and police treatment of Black citizens in the United States were examined. Findings suggest the existence of a “Trump Effect.” With minor variation across demographic groups, the survey respondents expressed overall negative perceptions concerning the effects of President Trump’s election. In particular, they expressed the belief that his presidency shows that the United States is a racist society, will strain police-minority relationships, and will create a climate in which African Americans are more likely to be arrested or subjected to police violence. At issue is not just African Americans’ distrust of President Trump but, importantly, whether his emphasis on “law and order” and dismissal of minority-group concerns attenuates the legitimacy of law enforcement in the eyes of African Americans.     

Pitbull mauling deaths in Detroit

Between the years 1987 and 2005, there were 6 deaths reported in Wayne County, Michigan, associated with pitbull dog attacks. This article discusses the age incidence, scene investigation, nature of the injuries, and discussion relative to fatal dog attacks, an unusual accidental type of death.     

Pilgrimage to wellness: an exploratory report of rural African American clergy perceptions of church health promotion capacity

Churches serve vital roles in African American communities, where disease burden is disproportionately greater and healthcare access is more limited. Although church leadership often must approve programs and activities conducted within churches, little is known about their perception of churches as health promotion organizations, or the impact of church-based health promotion on their own health. This exploratory study assessed perceptions of church capacity to promote health among 27 rural, African American clergy leaders and report the relationship between their own health and that of their congregation. Results indicate a perceived need to increase the capacity of their churches to promote health. Most common were conducting health programs, displaying health information, kitchen committee working with the health ministry, partnerships outside of the church, and funding. Findings lay the foundation for the development of future studies of key factors associated with organizational change and health promotion in these rural church settings.