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To date, only one published study has tested the predictive validity of the Texas Christian University–Criminal Thinking Scales (TCU-CTS), and no studies have tested whether these scales are predictive of prison misconduct. Using a sample of more than 2,000 people incarcerated in Minnesota’s prison system, this study examined the predictive validity of the TCU-CTS with multiple measures of prison misconduct. The results showed the overall TCU-CTS score significantly predicted misconduct, although the strength of this association was relatively modest (AUC = 0.62). Among the six scales on the TCU-CTS, Cold-Heartedness significantly predicted both measures of misconduct, whereas Power Orientation and Criminal Rationalization were each significantly associated with one misconduct measure.

In December 2018, the First Step Act of 2018 was signed into law, which required the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to begin using risk and needs assessment to assign programs and provide inmates ...

In July 2018, the Minnesota Department of Corrections revised the criteria it uses to place soon-to-be-released prisoners on intensive supervision by shifting from mostly offense-based conditions to those based exclusively on risk. In doing so, this policy change provided a unique opportunity to evaluate not only the impact of intensive supervision on recidivism but also whether risk-based policies lead to better outcomes. Using Cox regression and negative binomial regression on a sample of 1,818 persons released in 2018, we found that intensive supervised release (ISR) significantly reduced the hazard for general, felony, and violent reoffending. We also found, however, that ISR significantly increased the risk of a technical violation revocation. The findings from our cost–benefit analysis showed that, despite the relatively high costs it incurred, ISR was a cost-effective intervention because it reduced reoffending for those with a higher risk of committing serious, violent crimes.

The existing literature has devoted relatively little attention to the responsivity principle and, in particular, religiosity as a type of specific responsivity. Using a sample of nearly 2,000 people incarcerated in Minnesota’s prison system, this study examined the relationship between religiosity and measures of risk, needs, and responsivity. The results showed that religiosity was positively associated with childhood trauma, pro-social identities, and perceived social support, while it was negatively associated with criminal thinking and employment needs. Findings further revealed that religiosity was associated with less prison misconduct and reduced recidivism risk, but only for people with positive self-identities, according to Paternoster and Bushway’s Fear of Self scale, and lower levels of perceived social support. We discuss the implications of these results for theory and practice.

This study examined the characteristics of mass public shootings from 2000 through 2019 that impacted the extent of news coverage. A negative binomial regression predicting AP story counts indicated substantially greater coverage of shootings with a high number of casualties; that target government facilities, schools, or houses of worship; that are perpetrated by younger assailants, particularly with indications of mental illness; that involve terrorism or hate-motivation; that end in the assailant’s arrest rather than death; and, to a lesser extent, that include larger shares of victims who are White, women, children, and strangers. Overall, the disproportionate coverage contributes to distorted perceptions of risk and reinforces inaccurate stereotypes about these crimes.

While research has consistently shown that in-person prison visitation is associated with reduced recidivism, much less is known about the effects of video visits. This study compares recidivism outcomes between 885 inmates who had at least one video visit and a matched comparison group of 885 who did not receive a virtual visit. Video visits reduced two measures of recidivism (general and felony reconvictions) but did not have a significant effect on the other two measures (violent reconviction and technical violation revocations). As the number of video visits increased, so did the size of the recidivism reduction, at least for general and felony reoffending. Despite the generally favorable impact on recidivism, video visitation was used sparingly by Minnesota’s prison population.

This study presents the results from the development and validation of a fully automated, gender-specific risk assessment system designed to predict severe and frequent prison misconduct on a recurring, semiannual basis. K-fold and split-population methods were applied to train and test the predictive models. Regularized logistic regression was the classifier used on the training and test sets that contained 35,506 males and 3,849 females who were released from Minnesota prisons between 2006 and 2011. Using multiple metrics, the results showed the models achieved a relatively high level of predictive performance. For example, the average area under the curve (AUC) was 0.832 for the female prisoner models and 0.836 for the male prisoner models. The findings provide support for the notion that better predictive performance can be obtained by developing assessments that are customized to the population on which they will be used.

To estimate the number of parents in state prisons in Minnesota, 2,242 adults completed a brief survey. More than two thirds reported having minor children. More women than men reported being a parent; over half reported living with their children before arrest. In a multivariate model, parent gender, residing with children pre-incarceration, and child age predicted interest in parenting programming. The current study yielded a higher prevalence of parental incarceration than national and other state estimates. Findings underscore the importance of documenting the prevalence of parents in prison and identifying programs and policies to address their needs.

Since prisoners who receive visits while incarcerated are less likely to recidivate, scholars have studied predictors of visitation, finding that the distance visitors must travel affects how often...

Using archival and site-based research, this article explores operational practices at six U.S. prison seminary programs regarding concepts of religious establishment. Further highlighted is a shift toward faith-based volunteerism as a “structural charity” in correctional budgeting. While religious programs offer powerfully transformative access to social capital for many inmates, the recent insertion of Christian “seminaries” into U.S. prisons arguably fosters religious establishment in four key areas: a lack of state neutrality toward religion, excessive state entanglement with religious service providers, inadequate solicitation of alternative programming, and a de facto measure of coercion in delivery of services.

Scholarship on mass public shootings has increased in recent years as comprehensive datasets have become more available. As a result, much is known about the contextual and offender related characteristics of such attacks. However, less research has been conducted on attacks that were planned but ultimately did not occur. Understanding how mass public shootings may be thwarted or averted is important for both policy and theoretical reasons. In this paper, we describe a new dataset of averted mass public shooting threats (N = 194) from 2000–2019 and compare them to mass public shootings that were completed during this time (N = 97). Several noteworthy findings emerged, including that nearly half of the averted cases were reported by a friend or acquaintance, most targeted a specific location or group, and averted cases were more likely to involve school targets and co-offenders. Implications are discussed.

Superficial amorphization and re-crystallization of silicon in &lt, 111&gt, and &lt, 100&gt, orientation after irradiation by femtosecond laser pulses (790 nm, 30 fs) are studied using optical imaging and transmission electron microscopy. Spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry (SIE) allows fast data acquisition at multiple wavelengths and provides experimental data for calculating nanometric amorphous layer thickness profiles with micrometric lateral resolution based on a thin-film layer model. For a radially Gaussian laser beam and at moderate peak fluences above the melting and below the ablation thresholds, laterally parabolic amorphous layer profiles with maximum thicknesses of several tens of nanometers were quantitatively attained. The accuracy of the calculations is verified experimentally by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX). Along with topographic information obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM), a comprehensive picture of the superficial re-solidification of silicon after local melting by femtosecond laser pulses is drawn.

Batteryless sensing devices powered solely by ambient energy sources are expected to operate in an intermittent manner, since they do not have a predictable, or even continuous, energy supply. When such an intermittent system is powered off, it cannot keep track of time using conventional means. However, a continuous sense of time is critical for any system running real-time or time-sensitive applications. In this paper, we present HARC (Heterogeneous Array of Redundant Persistent Clocks), a novel solution to the problem of timekeeping for batteryless, intermittently-powered systems. HARC uses a heterogeneous, redundant array of capacitor-based persistent clocks that each decay in parallel, but at different rates, to provide variation-resilient high accuracy over a wide range of power off-times. We demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of HARC using experimental evaluations on a HARC prototype, and trace-based simulations of HARC-supported communication directly between two devices intermittently-powered by RF harvesting.

Nodes in batteryless sensor networks operate intermittently, making tasks such as node-to-node communication and coordinated computation extremely challenging. Adding to this challenge, a node typically has little control over its intermittency. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce a new class of protocols, which we call lifecycle management protocols (LMPs), to better control and manage the intermittency of batteryless nodes. These protocols may be designed and optimized for a particular task; here, we propose and evaluate a set of LMPs designed to enable direct communication between intermittent batteryless sensor nodes with active radios.

Objective In this study, we analyzed the relationship between state firearm laws and the incidence and severity (i.e., number of victims) of mass public shootings in the United States during the period 1976-2018. Hypotheses We hypothesized that states requiring permits to purchase firearms would have a lower incidence of mass public shootings than states not requiring permits. We also hypothesized that states banning large-capacity ammunition magazines would experience a lower number of victims in mass public shootings that did occur than states without bans. Method We developed a panel of annual, state-specific data on firearm laws and mass public shooting events and victim counts. We used a generalized estimating equations logistic regression to examine the relationship between eight state firearm laws and the likelihood of a mass public shooting. We then used a zero-inflated negative binomial model to assess the relationship between these laws and the number of fatalities and nonfatal injuries in these incidents. Results State laws requiring a permit to purchase a firearm were associated with 60% lower odds of a mass public shooting occurring (95% confidence interval [CI: -32%, -76%]). Large-capacity magazine bans were associated with 38% fewer fatalities (95% CI [-12%, -57%]) and 77% fewer nonfatal injuries (95% CI [-43%, -91%]) when a mass shooting occurred. Conclusion Laws requiring permits to purchase a gun are associated with a lower incidence of mass public shootings, and bans on large capacity magazines are associated with fewer fatalities and nonfatal injuries when such events do occur. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

When sex offenders in Minnesota are assigned risk levels prior to their release from prison, correctional staff frequently exercise professional judgment by overriding the presumptive risk level per an offender's score on the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool-3 (MnSOST-3), a sexual recidivism risk-assessment instrument. These overrides enabled us to evaluate whether the use of professional judgment resulted in better predictive performance than did reliance on "actuarial" judgment (MnSOST-3). Using multiple metrics, we also compared the performance of a home-grown instrument (the MnSOST-3) with a global assessment (the revised version of the Static-99 [Static-99R]) in predicting sexual recidivism for 650 sex offenders released from Minnesota prisons in 2012. The results showed that use of professional judgment led to a significant degradation in predictive performance. Likewise, the MnSOST-3 outperformed the Static-99R for both sexual recidivism measures (rearrest and reconviction) across most of the performance metrics we used. These results imply that actuarial tools and home-grown tools are preferred relative to those that include professional judgment and those developed on different populations. (PsycINFO Database Record

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability (MnCOSA), a sex offender reentry program implemented by the Minnesota Department of Corrections in 2008. Using a randomized controlled trial, this study compares recidivism and cost–benefit outcomes among sex offenders in the MnCOSA (N = 50) and control groups (N = 50). The results suggest MnCOSA significantly reduced sexual recidivism, lowering the risk of rearrest for a new sex offense by 88%. In addition, MnCOSA significantly decreased all four measures of general recidivism, with reductions ranging in size from 49 to 57%. As a result of the reduction in recidivism, findings from the cost–benefit analysis reveal the program has generated an estimated $2 million in costs avoided to the state, resulting in a benefit of $40,923 per participant. For every dollar spent on MnCOSA, the program has yielded an estimated benefit of $3.73. Although difficult to implement, the CoSA model is a cost-effective intervention for sex offenders that could also be applied to other correctional populations with a high risk of violent recidivism.

This study examined the effects of program timing and duration on recidivism outcomes among 1,879 offenders released from Minnesota prisons in 2005. The point at which prisoners entered programming...

This study examines the development and validation of the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool–4 (MnSOST-4) on a dataset consisting of 5,745 sex offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2003 and 2012. Bootstrap resampling was used to select predictors, and k-fold and split-sample methods were used to internally validate the MnSOST-4. Using sex offense reconviction within 4 years of release from prison as the failure criterion, the data showed that 130 (2.3%) offenders in the overall sample were recidivists. Multiple classification methods and performance metrics were used to develop the MnSOST-4 and evaluate its predictive performance on the test set. The results from the regularized logistic regression algorithm showed that the MnSOST-4 performed well in predicting sexual recidivism in the test set, achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.835. Additional analyses on the test set revealed that the MnSOST-4 outperformed the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool–3 (MnSOST-3), Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool–Revised (MnSOST-R), and Static-99 in predicting sexual reoffending.

Prior research tends to find an inverse relationship between inmates’ religion and misconduct in prison, but this relationship has lacked empirical explanation. We therefore propose the religion-misconduct relationship is mediated by inmates’ identity transformation on existential, cognitive, and emotional dimensions. To test the mediation, we conducted a survey of inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (a.k.a. “Angola”). Controlling for inmates’ sociodemographic and criminal backgrounds, we estimated a latent-variable structural equation model of disciplinary convictions. Results showed that inmates’ religious conversion and, to a lesser extent, religiosity itself were positively related to existential and cognitive transformations as well as a “crystallization of discontent,” which were in turn associated with two types of emotional transformation in the expected direction. The crystallization of discontent and transformation in negative affect were related to disciplinary convictions as hypothesiz...

Using multiple measures of postprison employment (finding a job, hours worked, and wages earned), we examined the predictors of postrelease employment outcomes for 15,111 prisoners released from Minnesota prisons between 2007 and 2010. Similar to existing research, employment rates for these former prisoners following their release from prison were higher than their preprison rates. Unlike previous research, however, we found the postprison employment rate did not return to preprison levels, but instead remained relatively flat after 2½ years. Moreover, the results showed the number of interventions in which prisoners participated significantly improved their chances of finding a job, hours worked, and wages earned. These effects were not confined to education and employment programming as positive results were also observed for other interventions such as substance abuse treatment, prison visitation, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Research Summary The relationship between reliability and validity is an important but often overlooked topic of research on risk assessment tools in the criminal justice system. By using data from the Minnesota Screening Tool Assessing Recidivism Risk (MnSTARR), a risk assessment instrument the Minnesota Department of Corrections (MnDOC) developed and began using in 2013, we evaluated the impact of inter-rater reliability (IRR) on predictive performance (validity) among offenders released in 2014. After comparing the reliability of a manual scoring process with an automated one, we found the MnSTARR was scored with a high degree of consistency by MnDOC staff as intraclass correlation (ICC) values ranged from 0.81 to 0.94. But despite this level of IRR, we still observed a degradation in predictive validity given that automated assessments significantly outperformed those that had been scored manually. Additional analyses revealed that the more inter-rater disagreement increased, the more predictive performance decreased. The results from our cost–benefit analyses, which examined the anticipated impact of the MnDOC's efforts to automate the MnSTARR, showed that for every dollar to be spent on automation, the estimated return will be at least $4.35 within the first year and as much as $21.74 after the fifth year. Policy Implications Although it is unclear the degree to which our findings, which are somewhat preliminary, are generalizable to other offender populations and correctional systems, we believe the results are sufficiently promising to warrant greater interest in automating the assessment of risk and need. We anticipate many, if not most, correctional systems may need to invest in upgrading their IT infrastructure to support the use of automated instruments. But we also anticipate this investment would deliver a favorable return for our results suggest that automation reduces inter-rater disagreement, which in turn improves predictive performance. Even if automation did not improve performance, the increased efficiency it produces would create reinvestment opportunities within correctional systems.

One of the untested assumptions within the prison visitation literature is that inmates receive fewer visits when visitors must travel long distances to prisons. Measuring distance by comparing the addresses of the prisons where offenders were confined with the residential addresses of those who visited them, we tested this hypothesis by estimating the effects of distance on the number of times Minnesota prisoners were visited. We estimated the effects of distance by performing multilevel repeated measure analyses, measuring the frequency of visitation across the different facilities at which inmates were housed, the different neighborhoods from which they received visits, and between-inmate differences in visitation frequency. Besides distance, we also estimated the effects of social disorganization on the frequency of visitation. Finding that distance does indeed decrease the frequency of prison visitation, as does concentrated disadvantage in neighborhoods, we discuss the implications of this research for prison administrative policies.

Research has shown that prison visitation is associated with reduced recidivism. This study analyzes whether visits from community volunteers (CVs)—specifically clergy and mentors—had an impact on recidivism by examining 836 offenders released from Minnesota prisons. The results show that CV visits significantly reduced all three measures of reoffending but had no impact on technical violation revocations. The salutary effect on recidivism grew as the proportion of CV visits to all visits increased. The findings suggest CV visits should be conceptualized as a programming resource to be used with higher risk offenders who lack social support.

Reperfusion lung injury is a postoperative complication of pulmonary thromboendarterectomy that can significantly affect morbidity and mortality. Studies in other postoperative patient populations have demonstrated a reduction in acute lung injury with the use of a low-tidal volume (Vt) ventilation strategy. Whether this approach benefits patients undergoing thromboendarterectomy is unknown.We sought to determine if low-Vt ventilation reduces reperfusion lung injury in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension undergoing thromboendarterectomy.Patients undergoing thromboendarterectomy at one center were randomized to receive either low (6 ml/kg predicted body weight) or usual care Vts (10 ml/kg) from the initiation of mechanical ventilation in the operating room through Postoperative Day 3. The primary endpoint was the onset of reperfusion lung injury. Secondary outcomes included severity of hypoxemia, days on mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit and hospital lengths of stay.A total of 128 patients were enrolled and included in the analysis; 63 were randomized to the low-Vt group and 65 were randomized to the usual care group. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of reperfusion lung injury between groups (32%, n=20 in the low-Vt group vs. 23%, n=15 in the usual care group; P=0.367). Although differences were noted in plateau pressures (17.9 cm H2O vs. 20.1 cm H2O, P0.001) and peak inspiratory pressures (20.4 cm H2O vs. 23.0 cm H2O, P0.001) between the low-Vt and usual care groups, respectively, mean airway pressures, PaO2/FiO2, days on mechanical ventilation, and ICU and hospital lengths of stay were all similar between groups.In patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension undergoing pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, intra- and postoperative ventilation using low Vts (6 mg/kg) compared with usual care Vts (10 mg/kg) does not reduce the incidence of reperfusion lung injury or improve clinical outcomes. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00747045).

Recent research has produced mixed results as to whether newer machine learning algorithms outperform older, more traditional methods such as logistic regression in predicting recidivism. In this study, we compared the performance of 12 supervised learning algorithms to predict recidivism among offenders released from Minnesota prisons. Using multiple predictive validity metrics, we assessed the performance of these algorithms across varying sample sizes, recidivism base rates, and number of predictors in the data set. The newer machine learning algorithms generally yielded better predictive validity results. LogitBoost had the best overall performance, followed by Random forests, MultiBoosting, bagged trees, and logistic model trees. Still, the gap between the best and worst algorithms was relatively modest, and none of the methods performed the best in each of the 10 scenarios we examined. The results suggest that multiple methods, including machine learning algorithms, should be considered in the development of recidivism risk assessment instruments.

Communities across the United States have become increasingly concerned over the presence of sex offenders in their neighborhoods. The purpose of this research is to examine the factors that are associated with the concentration of sex offenders in a large geographic area with few residency restrictions. This research also examines multiple categories of sex offenders subject to varying levels of community notification, allowing for an assessment of what, if any, effect community notification has on the residential patterns of sex offenders. Concentrated disadvantage, concentrated affluence, and housing affordability are all significant factors in explaining the concentration of multiple categories of sex offenders. Concentrated affluence relative to poverty is the most consistent predictor of sex offender concentration, revealing that more affluent communities ward off sex offender residents, regardless of community notification requirements.

We analyzed whether a Bible college program had an impact on prison misconduct by examining 230 offenders in the Texas prison system. Findings suggest participation in the Bible college significantly improved offender behavior, reducing misconduct by one discipline conviction per participant. The results also showed that participation significantly decreased the risk of incurring a discipline conviction, lowering it by 65 percent for minor misconduct, 80 percent for major misconduct, and 68 percent for any misconduct. The findings are consistent with existing research, which has generally found that participation in prison-based programming, including educational and faith-based programs, produces better misconduct outcomes.

Research Summary We used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of Moving On, a gender-responsive, cognitive-behavioral program designed for female offenders. Between 2001 and 2013, there were two distinct periods in which Moving On was administered with, and without, fidelity among female Minnesota prisoners. To determine whether program integrity matters, we examined the performance of Moving On across these two periods. By using multiple comparison groups, we found that Moving On significantly reduced two of the four measures of recidivism when it was implemented with fidelity. The program did not have a significant impact on any of the four recidivism measures, however, when it operated without fidelity. Policy Implication The growth of the "what works" literature and the emphasis on evidence-based practices have helped foster the notion that correctional systems can improve public safety by reducing recidivism. Given that Moving On's success hinged on whether it was delivered with integrity, our results show that correctional practitioners can take an effective intervention and make it ineffective. Providing offenders with evidence-based interventions that lack therapeutic integrity not only promotes a false sense of effectiveness, but also it squanders the limited supply of programming resources available to correctional agencies. The findings suggest that ensuring program integrity is critical to the efficient use of successful interventions that deliver on the promise of reduced recidivism. Language: en

Since 2002, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has provided release-planning services to serious and persistent mentally ill (SPMI) offenders. This study assesses the effectiveness of SPMI release planning by examining recidivism outcomes among 796 offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2004 and 2011. Propensity score matching was used to individually match 398 SPMI offenders who received release planning with a comparison group of 398 SPMI offenders who did not receive these services. The results from the Cox regression analyses showed that SPMI release planning did not have a significant impact on any of the four recidivism measures that were analyzed. Release planning’s failure to reduce recidivism may be due to the fact that these services were designed to treat mental illness rather than address the criminogenic needs of offenders.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of prison-based educational programming by examining the effects of obtaining secondary and post-secondary degrees on recidivism and post-release employment outcomes among offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2007 and 2008. Obtaining a secondary degree in prison significantly increased the odds of securing post-release employment but did not have a significant effect on recidivism or other employment measures such as hourly wage, total hours worked, or total wages earned. Earning a post-secondary degree in prison, however, was associated with greater number of hours worked, higher overall wages, and less recidivism.

This study adds to the relatively limited and mostly outdated work release literature by evaluating the effectiveness of a Minnesota prison work release program. A retrospective quasi-experimental design was used to assess the impact of work release on recidivism, employment, and cost avoidance among 3,570 offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2007 and 2010. Propensity score matching was used to minimize observable selection bias. Work release significantly increased the hazard of returning to prison for a technical violation, although it significantly reduced, albeit modestly, the risk of reoffending with a new crime. It did not have an impact on hourly wage, but it significantly increased the odds that participants found a job, the total hours they worked, and the total wages they earned. Work release produced an estimated cost avoidance benefit of $1.25 million overall, which amounts to nearly $700 per participant.

Purpose This study examines the selective incapacitation effects of civil commitment on sexual reoffending among 105 Minnesota sex offenders who were civilly committed between 2004 and 2006. Methods The Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool-3, a sexual recidivism risk assessment instrument, was used to estimate what the four-year sexual recidivism rate would have been for these offenders had they been released to the community. Integration of Survival with Quality of Life (iSQoL) software was used to extrapolate the survival curves over a 50-year period to develop a lifetime sexual recidivism estimate. Results If the 105 civilly committed sex offenders had been released to the community, an estimated nine percent would have been reconvicted of a new sex offense within four years. Civilly committing these offenders therefore likely reduced the overall four-year sexual recidivism rate by 12 percent. The results further suggest that if these offenders had been released to the community, an estimated 28 percent would be rearrested for another sex offense within their lifetime. Conclusions To better align the costs of civil commitment with its public safety benefits, states operating these programs should emphasize the use of intermediate alternatives in the community for a more positive return on investment.

Using a randomized experimental design, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the Minnesota Comprehensive Offender Reentry Plan (MCORP), a prisoner reentry pilot project implemented in 2008. In an effort to reduce recidivism, MCORP attempted to increase offender access to community services and programming by producing greater case management collaboration between caseworkers in prison and supervision agents in the community. Results from Cox regression models showed that MCORP significantly reduced four of the five recidivism measures examined, although the size of the reduction in hazard ratios was relatively modest (20–25%). The findings further suggested that MCORP reduced costs. Sensitivity analyses showed, however, that the cost avoidance estimates were not robust across all assumptions that were examined.

This article describes the correlation between crystallinity degree and spatial seam homogeneity for laser transmission welding of polymers applying TWIST method, which is based on a superposition of slow regular feed and fast periodic circular or elliptical beam motion. Laser welding experiments and measurements of optical polymer properties (transmittance, reflectance and collimated transmittance) are reported for thermoplastic polypropylene PP and Polyamide PA66 as well as for thermoplastic elastomer PEBAX. The shape of the seam is visualized by measuring the heat affected zone (HAZ). Compared to the circular the elliptical motion leads to a homogeneous HAZ, which is advantageous for the welding process in many cases. Besides TWIST parameters, scattering of the laser radiation influences the welding result considerably. This is shown for high-crystallinity PA66, which needs more laser power to achieve similar weld seams than PP or PEBAX. The correspondence between homogeneous HAZ and good welding results is investigated by measuring the strength of welded T-shape samples with respect to the laser power. The elliptic TWIST motion leads to a broader processing window, if the ratio of the beam diameter and the major TWIST radius is smaller than a certain value (® radii. For welding PP, the maximum is observed only for big radii.

This study presents findings on the development, validity, and reliability of the Minnesota Screening Tool Assessing Recidivism Risk (MnSTARR), a prediction instrument that assesses risk for four types of recidivism for male prisoners (sexual, nonsexual violent, nonviolent, and felony) and three types for females prisoners (nonsexual violent, nonviolent, and felony). Logistic regression modeling was used to develop the MnSTARR on 11,375 male offenders and 1,100 females offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2003 and 2006. Bootstrap resampling was used to not only refine the selection of predictors, but also to internally validate the model. The optimism-corrected area under the curve (AUC) values ranged from .73 to .80 for male offenders and .73 to .81 for female offenders. In addition to showing a relatively high degree of calibration between MnSTARR values and observed recidivism, the results showed the instrument can, for the most part, be scored consistently across raters. Intraclass correlation coefficient values ranged from .79 to .86 for male offenders and .81 to .96 for female offenders.

Evidence has been mixed as to whether private prisons are more effective than state-operated facilities in reducing recidivism. This study analyzes whether private prison confinement in Minnesota has had an impact on recidivism by examining 3,532 offenders released from prison between 2007 and 2009. Propensity score matching was used to individually match a comparison group of 1,766 inmates who had only been confined in state-run facilities with 1,766 offenders who had served time in a private prison facility. Using multiple measures of recidivism and private prison confinement, 20 Cox regression models were estimated. The results showed that offenders who had been incarcerated in a private prison had a greater hazard of recidivism in all 20 models, and the recidivism risk was significantly greater in 8 of the models. The evidence presented in this study suggests that private prisons are not more effective in reducing recidivism, which may be attributable to fewer visitation and rehabilitative programming opportunities for offenders incarcerated at private facilities.

Many emerging sensor applications are powered by energy harvesters that impose strict power constraints. These applications often do not require high performance or energy efficiency. We explore a technique for minimizing power of a microprocessor for power constrained applications: bit serial computing. Bit serial computing promises power benefits up to the data width for fully bit serializable logic. We perform a best-effort bit serialization of the openMSP430 microprocessor without making instruction set architecture (ISA) modifications. Although it is very challenging to serialize much of the logic in the microprocessor, we show that power benefits of serialization exceed 42% when the serial and parallel designs synthesized for their maximum operating frequency are running at a low duty cycle. Benefits are expected to be higher when ISA modifications are allowed.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of EMPLOY, a prisoner reentry employment program, by examining recidivism and postrelease employment outcomes among 464 offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2006 and 2008. As outcome data were collected on the 464 offenders through the end of June 2010, the average follow-up period was 28 months. Observable selection bias was minimized by using propensity score matching to create a comparison group of 232 nonparticipants who were not significantly different from the 232 EMPLOY offenders. Results from the Cox regression analyses revealed that participating in EMPLOY reduced the hazard ratio for recidivism by 32% to 63%. The findings further showed that EMPLOY increased the odds of gaining postrelease employment by 72%. Although EMPLOY did not have a significant impact on hourly wage, the overall postrelease wages for program participants were significantly higher because they worked a greater number of hours. The study concludes by discussing the implications of these findings.