Graduate Education at Iowa. Fall 2013.

Newsletter for alumni from the University of Iowa Graduate College.

La délinquance des étrangers : criminalité, récidive et les facteurs influençant le retour en prison

Résumé : La délinquance des étrangers se situe depuis quelques années au milieu de beaucoup de débats politiques. En même temps, la récidive constitue l'un des sujets d'étude classiques de la criminologie. Cette recherche combine ces deux phénomènes en s'intéressant aux causes de la délinquance et de l'éventuelle récidive d'un échantillon d'étrangers incarcérés en Suisse. Le cadre théorique repose sur une revue approfondie de la littérature scientifique sur la délinquance des étrangers ainsi que sur les facteurs influençant la récidive. Ces revues ont conduit à l'élaboration d'une série d'hypothèses qui ont été testées dans la partie empirique du travail. Cette dernière comprend l'étude des 500 dossiers des étrangers libérés des Etablissements pénitentiaires de la Plaine de l'Orbe (EPO, canton de Vaud, Suisse) entre 1995 et 1999, ainsi que le suivi de ces personnes, avec l'aide des données fournies par l'Office fédéral de la statistique, afin d'établir si elles avaient récidivé durant les cinq années postérieures à leur libération. Elle comprend également l'analyse de 125 entretiens conduits auprès des détenus des EPO entre 2005 et 2006 dont le but était d'établir, entre autres, leur perception subjective sur les causes de la délinquance et de la récidive. Les résultats indiquent un taux de récidive d'environ 30%. En outre, ils corroborent l'influence sur la récidive des facteurs identifiés par les recherches précédentes bien que, vu les particularités de l'échantillon étudié, certains de ces facteurs -tel que l'âge à la première condamnation ou l'âge à la sortie de prison-, présentent des divergences. En outre, l'analyse des entretiens a permis l'élaboration d'une nouvelle classification des causes de la récidive. Finalement, la recherche permet une connaissance plus approfondie des causes de l'implication dans la délinquance de la population de référence. The delinquency of the foreigners: criminality, recidivism and the factors that influence to the return to prison Abstract : The foreigners' delinquency is today in the middle of political debates. Moreover, recidivism is one of the classical subjects studied in criminology. The present research combines these two phenomena by studying the causes of foreigners' delinquency and recidivism. With the purpose of doing this research, a theoretical framework on the criminality of foreigners has been established through an extensive review of research literature on this subject as well as on the factors influencing recidivism. These reviews have allowed the establishment of a series of hypotheses that have been tested in the empirical part of the study. This empirical research includes the study of 500 cases of all foreigners released from the Penitentiary Establishment of the Plaine de l'Orbe (EPO, in the Vaud region) between 1995 and 1999. This population was then followed-up by means of data provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics in order to know whether they had recidivated during the five years following their release. The empirical study also includes the analysis of interviews conducted with 125 inmates of EPO between 2005 and 2006 to determine what are, in the opinion of the inmates interviewed, the causes of recidivism and the causes of crime. The results show a recidivism rate of approximately 30%. Furthermore, the factors which, according to research analyzed, influence recidivism, have also been related to the recidivism of our sample. However, due to the fact that the sample studied consists of foreigners, some factors, such as age of the first conviction or age of release of prison, show some differences with respect to the literature. Finally, the information obtained from the interviews has allowed the establishment of a new classification on the causes of recidivism, and to get a deeper knowledge of the causes of crime involvement of the population studied.

Public health education in Europe: old and new challenges

The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the current challenges faced by European schools of public health. Perhaps most remarkable on the continent is the diversity, the magnitude, and the rapidity of the developments in public health education since the Second World War. This article discusses its evolution, its main characteristics and the underlying rationale with several examples. Further, it addresses specific aspects of the future development, namely the collaboration of academic schools with practice-oriented institutions, as well as the interactions between the constituent disciplines of public health. The Bologna process on post-graduate education in Europe has had an important impact on the overall design of most schools. There is a willingness to develop public health in each country of the European region and there is a need to develop common strategies to reach high standards in teaching, training and researching in all disciplines related to public health.

The european higher education area at work: Lights and shadows defining continuous assessment

The aim of this paper is to analyse how learning assessment, particularly the Continuous Assessment system, has been defined in the Public Administration and Management Diploma Course of the University of Barcelona (Spain). This course was a pioneering experiment at this university in implementing the guidelines of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and thus represents a good case study for verifying whether one of the cornerstones of the EHEA has been accomplished with success. Using data obtained from the Teaching Plans elaborated by the lecturers of each subject, we are able to establish that the CA system has been progressively accepted to such an extent that it is now the assessment formula used by practically all of the lecturers, conforming in this way to the protocols laid down by the Faculty of Law in which this diploma course is taught. Nevertheless, we find that high dispersion exists in how Continuous Assessment is actually defined. Indeed, it seems that there is no unified view of how Continuous Assessment should be performed. This dispersion, however, seems to diminish over time and raises some questions about the advisability of agreement on criteria, considering the potential which CA has as a pedagogical tool. Moreover, we find that the Unique Assessment system, which students may also apply for, is an option chosen only by a minority, with lecturers usually defining it as merely a theoretical and/or practical test, of little innovation in relation to traditional tests.

Radiation protection education and training in several ionising radiation applications

Ionising radiation (IR) applications are quiet common among several areas of knowledge, medicine or industry. Medical X-rays, Nuclear Medicine, Xrays used in non-destructive testing or applications in research are a few examples. These radiations originate from radioactive materials or radiation emitting devices. Radiation Protection education and training (E&T) is of paramount importance to work safely in areas that imply the use of IR. TheTechnical Unit for Radiation Protection at the University of Barcelona has anextensive expertise in basic, initial and refresher training, in general or specificareas, as well as in courses validated by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council orto satisfy specific needs with bespoke courses. These specific customer needsare evaluated and on-site courses can also be carried out.

Audit report on the Iowa Department of Education for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Iowa Department of Education for the year ended June 30, 2013

Report on Iowa State Prison Industries – Farms for the year ended June 30, 2013

Report on Iowa State Prison Industries – Farms for the year ended June 30, 2013

Santé en milieu pénitentiaire: vulnérabilité partagée entre détenus et professionnels de la santé [Health in prison: shared vulnerability between detainees and health professionals]

In prison, the health professional has to take the sanitary needs of a temporary of chronically vulnerable population. His practice has to meet laws and recommendations, as well as the field reality and its numerous constraints. This puts him in a "shared vulnerability and stigmatization". He attempts to maintain or restore a health status in a deteriorating environment, at least psychologically. He is in the penitentiary world's eye which he depends upon in many ways to achieve his mandate. His activity is scarcely known and recognised by his peers from whom he can be very out of touch. To ensure a humanistic, efficient and equivalent-of-care practice, the health professional must rely on sound knowledge of general healthcare, ethics, deontology and medical laws. Basic and continuous training is a mainspring, like networking and development of federal recommendations.

Do more educated leaders raise citizens’ education?

This paper looks at the contribution of political leaders to enhance citizens education and investigate how the educational attainment of the population is affected while a leader with higher education remains in office. For this purpose, we consider educational transitions of political leaders in office and find that the educational attainment of population increases when a more educated leader remains in office. Furthermore, we also observe that the educational attainment of the population is negatively impacted when a country transitions from an educated leader to a less educated one. This result may help to explain the previous finding that more educated political leaders favor economic growth. Key Words: Political leaders, Primary Education, School Achievement, Political institutions. JEL classification: I21,I25,I28.

Effects of math anxiety on student success in higher education

This study examines whether math anxiety and negative attitudes toward mathematics have an effect on university students" academic achievement in a methodological course forming part of their degree. A total of 193 students were presented with a math anxiety test and some questions about their enjoyment, self-confidence and motivation regarding mathematics, and their responses were assessed in relation to the grades they had obtained during continuous assessment on a course entitled"Research Design". Results showed that low performance on the course was related to math anxiety and negative attitudes toward mathematics. We suggest that these factors may affect students" performance and should therefore be taken into account in attempts to improve students" learning processes in methodological courses of this kind.

The Iowa plan for atomic energy education, 1950

This is volume 1 of 5 and is the Iowa Plan for Atomic Energy Education. It is the orientation to the Iowa plan for atomic energy education. This plan was presented to teachers, students and the lay public of Iowa with the desire to remove fears and assist in pointing the way toward a sensitive consideration of what American citizens can and should know and do about atomic energy.

Audit report of Iowa State Prison Industries for the year ended June 30, 2014

Audit report of Iowa State Prison Industries for the year ended June 30, 2014