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While knee injury-related pain and functional limitations are common in the physically active, the impact on general health is not well documented. Further, it is not known how much these outcomes differ among individuals that did or did not have surgery following the knee injury, as well as compared to those without knee injury history. We examined differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and general health among patients after knee surgery, knee injury that did not require surgery, and healthy controls. Knee surgery participants reported higher body mass index and lower SF-8 physical component scores than knee nonsurgery and control (p <.001 all comparisons) groups. Knee nonsurgery participants had lower SF-8 physical component scores (p =.01) than control participants. Patients after knee surgery report more adverse health effects than those with nonsurgically treated knee injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many jurisdictions have put regulatory strategies in place to provide incentives and safeguards to whistleblowers to encourage whistleblowing on corporate wrongdoings. One such strategy is the provision of a financial incentive to the whistleblower if the complaint leads to a successful regulatory enforcement action against the offending organization. We conducted an experiment using professional accountants as participants to examine whether such an incentive encourages potential whistleblowers to report an observed financial reporting fraud to a relevant external authority. We also examine the effect of perceived seriousness of the wrongdoing on accountants’ intention to whistleblow. We find that a financial incentive results in a higher intention to whistleblow to a relevant external authority. We also find that perceptions of the seriousness of the wrongdoing are significantly and positively associated with accountants’ intention to whistleblow to a relevant external authority. We find a significant interaction between the provision of a financial incentive and the perceived seriousness of the wrongdoing on the intention to report the wrongdoing externally. The intention to report the financial reporting fraud externally is higher when the level of perceived seriousness is higher, regardless of the availability of a financial incentive. However, when the perceived level of seriousness is lower, the presence of financial incentive results in a higher intention to report the financial reporting fraud externally. These findings indicate that the impact of a financial incentive on the intention to whistleblow is moderated by perceptions of the seriousness of the wrongdoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on some of the religious factors that shaped the pro-Southern lobby in Britain during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. British opinion cannot be explained only in terms of class and party. In exploring other determinants, the ideas and activities of wealthy High Churchman and Conservative politician Beresford Hope offer promising avenues of inquiry, for Hope saw in the American Union, and Southern secession, a religious dimension, represented most clearly in the Episcopal Church. To the more familiar (to historians) reasons why the South gained support in Britain--relating to economic and political interests--Hope added a deeper commitment arising from a sense of cultural affinity (the "Englishness" of the South) and from religious conviction (to him the Church, and indeed Christianity, seemed stronger in the South than in the North). This indicates a belief that Britain and the South were bound together by common Christian civilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying is a significant public concern. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether being repeatedly victimized by a bully during childhood and adolescence is associated with gun carrying in adolescence and adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we found that just over one fourth of the respondents reported carrying a gun at some point in their lifetime. Respondents experiencing repeat bully victimizations reported higher rates of gun carrying during the last 12 months and the last 30 days. No support was found for the association of repeat bully victimizations and carrying a gun to school. Individuals victimized during childhood (before the age of 12) and during adolescence were found to be at risk of carrying a gun later in the life course. Repeat bully victimizations should be considered a marker for gun-carrying behaviors in adolescence and adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the connections between Chartism, the most important popular reform mobilization in nineteenth-century Britain, and the United States of America, a source of hope and inspiration for many British radicals of the period, by focusing on the ideas and publications of James Bronterre O'Brien. The article explains why Chartists admired America's political system and social condition, why Britain seemed to them to be so flawed and corrupt in comparison, and how O'Brien - Chartism's 'schoolmaster'- used America in his political activities. Despite his key role in Chartism, especially in its early stages, O'Brien's reputation suffered thereafter, and among historians he has attracted only limited interest. His career merits another look. This article highlights in particular the ways in which he endorsed and increased the relevance of America to British radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the cumulative proportion of youth who self-report having been arrested or taken into custody for illegal or delinquent offenses (excluding arrests for minor traffic violations) from ages 8 to 23 years. METHODS: Self-reported arrest history data (excluding arrests for minor traffic violations) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 7335) were examined from 1997 to 2008. RESULTS: By age 18, the in-sample cumulative arrest prevalence rate lies between 15.9% and 26.8%; at age 23, it lies between 25.3% and 41.4%. These bounds make no assumptions at all about missing cases. If we assume that the missing cases are at least as likely to have been arrested as the observed cases, the in-sample age-23 prevalence rate must lie between 30.2% and 41.4%. The greatest growth in the cumulative prevalence of arrest occurs during late adolescence and the period of early or emerging adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Since the last nationally defensible estimate based on data from 1965, the cumulative prevalence of arrest for American youth (particularly in the period of late adolescence and early adulthood) has increased substantially. At a minimum, being arrested for criminal activity signifies increased risk of unhealthy lifestyle, violence involvement, and violent victimization. Incorporating this insight into regular clinical assessment could yield significant benefits for patients and the larger community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The authors recently determined that early and longer term mortality after initiation or reinitiation of intrathecal opioid therapy is higher than previously appreciated: 0.088% within 3 days, 0.39% at 1 month, and 3.89% at 1 year. These rates were 7.5 (confidence interval, 5.7–9.8), 3.4 (confidence interval, 2.9–3.8), and 2.7 (confidence interval, 2.6–2.8) times higher, respectively, at each interval than expected based on the age- and gender-matched general U.S. population. A substantial portion of this excess mortality is probably therapy related and cannot be entirely accounted for by underlying demographic or patient-related factors, or by device malfunctions. We also analyzed multiple complementary internal, governmental, and insurance databases to quantify mortality and to identify medical practice patterns that appear to be associated with patient mortality risks, and to suggest measures for physicians and health care facilities to consider in order to reduce those risks. Both of those objectives involve judgments, which may be controversial and are subject to practical limitations. Results. Multiple clinical and patient- or therapy-related factors appear to increase the risk for early post-implant mortality. Specific risk mitigation measures associated with each factor include: close attention to the starting intrathecal opioid dose (or restarting dose after therapy interruption); avoidance of outpatient implant or other device procedures that involve less than 24-hour monitoring for respiratory depression; supervision of concomitant opioid, respiratory depressant, or other central nervous system active drug intake early post-implant and chronically in the outpatient setting; and careful programming or dosage calculations and decisions in order to avoid the unintentional administration of high intrathecal opioid drug doses. Conclusions. Mortality after initiation of or device interventions in intrathecal drug delivery patients appears to occur as a result of multiple factors that present possible mitigation opportunities for physicians and health care facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act in the U.S. Creation of the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI); Establishment of the National Counterterrorism Center; Job responsibilities of the DNI under the legislation.

Examines the distinctive identity of U.S. intelligence. Elements distinguishing U.S. intelligence from that of other nations; Changes in the intelligence community.

Reports the results of a national telephone survey of a random sample of women attending colleges and universities in the U.S. concerning stalking during the 1996 to 1997 academic year. Risk factors associated with being a stalking victim; Research on the extent and nature of stalking; Discussion on lifestyle-routine activity theory and its characteristics.

Presents information on a study which focuses on the question whether support for correctional treatment or rehabilitation has diminished or maintained its hold on public thinking in the United States. How the study was conducted; Main emphasis of prisons; Support for rehabilitation programs; Perceived effectiveness of correctional rehabilitation; Conclusion.

Identifies and describes in detail all of the current proposed and implemented `three strikes' legislation in the United States. Details on the contents of statutes, the specific crimes included in the three-strikes legislation and various version s of the legislation; Reasons behind the bill's popularity; Possible impact of three-strikes laws.

Discusses the measures to improve the administration of federal justice in the U.S. Structural reforms; Substantive and procedural proposals; Changes in citizen access to federal courts.

Although reorganizing the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration had been repeatedly proposed in the past seven years, it was not until January 29, 1979 that Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced the “Justice System improvement Act” designed to do just that. An examination of this bill, and a comparison of the present LEAA structure and function with that proposed in the Act illustrates that the legislation will serve to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice fiscal assistance programs. The suggested course is to separate the research and statistics components from purely assistance functions and giving LEAA the latter responsibility on an exclusive basis. Research and Statistics would be housed in their own individual organizational structures, but within the preview of the Department of Justice. Two shortcomings, however, could serve to defeat the proposed bill. Although the legislation gives priority to fiscal assistance to state/local jurisdictions, there is no corresponding increase in financial commitment on the part of the Federal Government. In fact, the FY 1980 budget allocates LEAA its lowest funding level since 1972. At a time of growing concern over crime rates, this would certainly serve to soften the impact of the reorganization effort. In addition, maintaining the research function within the, Department of Justice could well prove prejudicial to research findings. The recommended course of action is to adopt the proposal which calls for an independent “National Institute of Justice,” to be organized along similar lines as the National Science Foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the ideas and activities of Henry Demarest Lloyd during his lifetime in the United States. The focus will be on Lloyd's moralistic approach to social and economic problems, and particularly his concern to redeem America and promote a "New Conscience." In an age of rapid social and economic transformation, Lloyd rejected contemporary celebrations of individualism, self- reliance, laissez-faire and the cult of success. He believed that American society was not working well and that it was wrong to place any trust in self-serving dogmas dressed up as universal truths. Critics such as Lloyd articulated the hopes and fears of those who felt left out, those who were unable to share in the "American Promise" of a better future, those who were being denied rights, opportunities and material comforts. Lloyd spoke up for these people, and shared the same concerns and opinions that motivated many other prominent social commentators. He also entered into an alliance with American labor, as well as writing and lecturing ceaselessly against the most harmful practices of corporations.

• Financial consequences of competitive set (compset) choice. • Consequences of deviating from strategic groups- and customer-based compsets. • Low degree of reciprocal monitoring suggests difficulty in identifying competitors. • Monitoring reciprocity is positively associated with performance. • Combining insights from multiple perspectives improves performance. This study examines the financial consequences of competitive set choice using a sample of 312 hotels in a major metropolitan area in the United States. We document existence of asymmetric competitor monitoring, finding just 55% of monitoring is reciprocal; that is, about half of managers "agree," by virtue of monitoring one another, on being direct competitors. Monitoring reciprocity is positively associated with performance through average daily rates. With total revenue unchanged, profits are higher through lower occupancy and lower total costs. We examine alternative competitive sets formed using strategic groups- and customer-based approaches, comparing these to actual compsets. We found that performance declines when managers deviate from these alternative sets. Post-hoc analyses provide insight on how overlapping compsets impact rates, occupancy and revenue. Our study is of value to academics and practitioners, providing evidence on the financial impact of competitive monitoring, and insights for managers who choose competitive sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's insights on the effect of the expected U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) budget cuts by the U.S. government, on astronomy in the U.S. He says that the budget cuts have resulted in a proposal to cancel the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and has undermined the planned partnership of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) on the International X-Ray Observatory (IXO). However, he argues that the JWST project should be continued.

Purpose: It is currently unknown whether the age of wheel exposure influences running wheel activity in mice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the age at which a running wheel was introduced affected running wheel activity for a subsequent 15-wk period. Methods: Twenty female C57B1/6J mice (age 7 wk) were assigned to one of four experimental groups. Group 1 received a running wheel at 7 wk of age. Thereafter, groups 2, 3, and 4 received running wheels at 10, 13, and 16 wk of age, respectively. Daily running wheel activity (duration, distance, and velocity) was recorded from the time of running wheel exposure until 30 wk of age. Results: A repeated-measures MANOVA found significant differences between groups for distance (P = 0.02), duration (P = 0.04), and velocity (P = 0.001) during the 15-wk concurrent running period (age 16-30 wk). Post hoc tests revealed significantly greater distance and duration in group 4 compared with group 2 and significantly greater velocity in group 4 compared with each of the other groups. Significant interactions were found between groups over time for distance (P = 0.01) and duration (P = 0.05). No significant difference between groups was observed for body weight over the 24-wk period (P> 0.05). Conclusion: Although differences were found between groups 2 and 4, these data suggest that the age at which physical activity is introduced has little influence on the subsequent level of physical activity in C57B1/6J mice. However, it appears that introduction of the running wheel at 16 wk of age results in greater within group variance, suggestive of a greater environmental influence on daily running wheel activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]