United States Citizens Research Articles

Syrian Refugees and Americans: Perceptions, Attitudes and Insights

In recent years, the United States (US) has seen an influx of refugees from the Syrian Crisis, highlighted by a public declaration from then President Obama that 10,000 refugees would be admitted. National surveys suggested that roughly half of US citizens were uncomfortable with this decision. This study serves as an extension of these previous surveys by further elucidating the underlying causes of this discomfort. As such, this study explores Americans’ perceptions of Syrian refugee resettlement as well as Syrians’ perceptions of America using face to face interviews and content analysis. Analyses revealed conflicting meanings of immigration for both Syrians and Americans as well as co-occurring compassion and fear directed towards Syrian refugees. In addition, Syrian refugees perceived their American resettlement as an opportunity for engagement with society and to contribute socially and economically, while also noting their marginalization and stigmatization in their transitional countries. Americans expressed a lack of understanding of the legal status of Syrian refugees, often equating them with undocumented and illegal migrants. Americans held oppositional attitudes towards Syrian refugees, expressing both empathy towards and fear of terrorism. This study extends the literature on immigration through a more dynamic exploration of attitudes of both refugees and citizens in America, capitalizing on the distinct advantages of qualitative approaches.

Fluid Frontiers and Uncertain Geographies: US Controls on Immigration From the Pacific, c. 1880−1950

ABSTRACT US policies of immigrant exclusion evolved from the so-called Asiatic barred zone of 1917 to the Asian ‘triangle’, but also included people of the Island Pacific. In the latter case, the test for eligibility to enter the United States (US) as a potential citizen was race based. World War II induced pressures by US citizens in the occupying armed forces for marriage to both Asian and Pacific Island women. Internal lobbying in the US plus diplomatic expediency resulted in some post-war relaxation of the ban on Asian immigration via marriage. In New Zealand there was at least one challenge to the extent of the Pacific boundary of the Western Hemisphere wherein greater mobility of migrants was acceptable to the US government. Political Cold War pressure, more than geographic boundaries, proved eventually more potent for potential immigration via marriage but this was too late for most Pacific partners of US servicemen.

When Hurt Heroes Do Harm: Collective Guilt and Leniency toward War-Veteran Defendants with PTSD

Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at heightened risk for interfacing with the United States legal system as criminal defendants. Two experiments were used to test the hypothesis that American mock jurors would punish a veteran (vs. a civilian) with PTSD for a violent crime less harshly because of their own collective guilt (i.e., the guilt felt for the transgressions of one's in-group) about the veteran's suffering due to war. The participants were United States citizens recruited online (n = 174) who completed a mock-juror experiment involving a violent assault committed by either a veteran or a civilian with PTSD. As predicted, jurors were more lenient toward the veteran (vs. the civilian). For male mock jurors this was explained by their collective guilt for the veteran's war-related suffering. A second study experimentally induced individual and collective guilt about veteran defendants, finding that mock jurors (n = 533) who are less likely to share a salient in-group identity with the veteran (i.e., women, people with lower national identification with the United States) can be induced to feel the requisite guilt to exhibit leniency toward a veteran. Thus, veterans suffering from PTSD may receive more lenient punishment because they elicit a sense of collective guilt in legal decision-makers.

A review of security and privacy concerns in digital intelligence collection

In recent years, government leaks have brought many alleged potential privacy violating intelligence collection programs to the public arena. Intelligence collection can affect the privacy rights of citizens from any country. While the concept of privacy is a complicated one, United States citizen privacy is protected by various policies and laws. This paper reviews these alleged intelligence collection programs, as well as specific laws set in place to protect privacy. Also presented are discussions on public opinion and whether or not digital intelligence collection are providing a safer environment for Americans.

A Potted Legal History of the Bisbee Deportation of 1917

In the summer of 1917, the town of Bisbee, Arizona illegally arrested and deported 1,186 people to New Mexico. Most of the deportees were United States citizens and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (“IWW”). They were deported because they were on strike against the mining companies that ruled Bisbee. The mining companies used the IWW’s opposition to WWI to tar the strikers as unpatriotic saboteurs and justify their deportation. But the Bisbee Deportation of 1917 also infuriated progressives and encouraged them to support organized labor.

Differences and similarities in the practice of medicine between australia and the United States of america: challenges and opportunities for the university of queensland and the ochsner clinical school.

In 2008, The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia and the Ochsner Health System (OHS) in Louisiana entered into a partnership that will allow a cohort of United States (US) citizens to enroll in an Australian medical degree program in which students will study for their first 2years of medical school in Brisbane, Australia, and then complete the final 2years of clinical education at OHS in New Orleans. The program's goal is to create graduates eligible to practice in Australia, New Zealand, and/or the US. We reviewed the UQ School of Medicine-established Ochsner Clinical School (OCS) and the translation of the UQ clinical curriculum to the US. The curriculum presented both challenges and opportunities, revealing the similarities and differences in the practice of medicine between Australia and the US. This paper highlights some of them, in terms of the healthcare systems, the health professional workforce, and medical education. For example, the healthcare system and medical school curriculum in Australia have a strong focus on primary care. This new model in education may help train more primary care physicians for the US, providing physicians with a unique global perspective to face the future challenges of medical practice.

The Scholarly Network

Service is the rent we pay for a room on earth.-Unknown authorI instruct my students to answer the exam question directly. That is, they must answer the question as wrote it and not as they wish to reformulate it. also tell my students to do as say and not as do. The editor has asked me and others to offer reflections on and how your own work has been affected by recent events (high-profile murders of black people, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray, as well as other black men, women, and children assaulted and murdered by law enforcement officials and others in the United States), including, if possible, one or two concrete examples of past, current, or future work.The editor asks whether my work has been affected by these events. This question presumes that my work and are separate, but as am a black woman academic, my work and life are intertwined. It is not possible for me to remain unaffected by the murders of black people. Although do not personally know the individuals who have been murdered, they are my kin. Although do not know their families, grieve with them. My work includes more than the items detailed in my annual faculty productivity report. do not judge my success or productivity solely by standard academic metrics. My work involves not only what publish but how operate in the world and in this academic discipline. In this personal essay, reflect on my motivation and efforts to support black and other underrepresented scholars through networking and social media.Data from the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) indicate that there are relatively few black biblical scholars in the United States. According to the 2015 SBL Society Report, Presently, 85% of members who claim to be United States citizens are of European descent, 3.8% are multiethnic, and 3.4% are of African descent. of Asian descent account for 2.3%, Latina/o descent totals 1.7%, and Native American, Alaska Native, or First Nation descent is 0.2%.1 Furthermore, the Society Report acknowledges, Members of African descent have the highest representation of contingent faculty at 9.5% and the lowest representation of fulltime tenured faculty at 47.4%2 As a group, black SBL members remain underrepresented and are least secure regarding tenure status.Academia is not a warm, welcoming space, and it is much less so for underrepresented scholars.3 In many conversations with nonblack academics, find that may be one of the few black scholars they know. According to the 2013 American Values Survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), the social networks of whites are 91 percent white.4 Just as our neighborhoods and faith communities are segregated, so are our scholarly networks. Academics rely on a host of informal communication networks for a variety of reasons. We may contact our graduate school cohort at feeder schools to ask if they have promising students who are applying for doctoral programs. We may e-mail our colleagues seeking names to include on lists of potential job candidates or keynote speakers. I have never heard of her is one of the worst things that can be said about a scholar. People need to know that you exist in order to invite you to collaborate on projects, contribute to edited volumes, or apply for fellowships. Black scholars who are not part of those networks may miss out on vital opportunities.I am fortunate to have a tenure-track position, encouraging departmental colleagues, a wonderful therapist, and a loving family. want to help other scholars who may not have the same support. do not consider myself an activist; for me, that term suggests someone who is strongly committed to a particular organization, cause, or action on a regular basis. do not consider myself a protester, although my family and attend local meetings, protests, and vigils, including those in support of the #SayHerName campaign. …

Does Long-term Equine Assisted Learning have an Effect on Childhood Weight Management?

In the United States, overweight and obesity have been described as an epidemic. Unfortunately, the current weight management interventions are not able to reverse the continual increase in the weight of the United States citizens. Appearing unrelated, New York State is the home to more than 200,000 horses, most of them used for pleasure purposes. There is a growing body of knowledge identifying how the horse can have a positive impact on the health and wellness of people. Objective: This prospective cohort pilot study was designed to examine the impact of Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) on long-term weight management during childhood. Methods: Seventeen overweight and obese female children, 7 to 12 years of age participated in a year-long program that met for 27 sessions with total contact time of 93 hours. Results: There was a trend for change in body fat to be associated with both baseline (BL) body weight (r=0.53, p=0.06) and age (r=0.55, p=0.10). Mean BL height and body weight of the first (n=5) and second (n=8) cohorts differed (59.5 ± 1.1 vs. 53.8 ± 5.8 in, p=0.05 and 129.8 ± 14.2 vs. 101.0 ± 21.0 lb, p=0.02, respectively), and children in the first cohort tended to be older (10.3 ± 1.2 vs. 9.3 ± 0.5 year, p=0.09), and thus analyzed separately. Mean sedentary time at BL for the 2 cohorts was 18.6 ± 6.7 h/wk, and was reduced to 14.6 ± 10.7 h/wk by year 1 (p=0.097 for time). There were clearly decreases over time in sweetened drink and fat consumption for both cohorts (p=0.004 for both variables). Conclusion: Results from the two separate cohorts of the Healthy as a Horse (HaaH) pilot study demonstrate a unique opportunity to further examine the use of the horse as a tool to assist in the continued development of effective programs to prevent, identify and treat childhood overweight and obesity.

Non-Resident Second Amendment Rights after Dearth v. Lynch

Two federal statutes have unwittingly resulted in depriving nonresident United States citizens of a constitutional right to bear arms. This article considers the background of the statutes, the rights and obligations of US Citizens abroad, and past jurisprudence on the Second Amendment. Through analysis of two types of scrutiny, one can consider how far to take the right to bear arms and determine how the right to bear arms should be treated for those who consciously give up permanent residency and live abroad.

Institutionalizing personal data protection in times of global institutional distrust: Schrems

The case discussed here is the result of the actions of two individuals, Edward Snowden and Maximilian Schrems. In 2013, Snowden exposed several programs, run by United States (US) intelligence agencies, capable of collecting, storing, and analysing personal data of both US citizens and others on an unprecedented scale. [...] Using the information released by Snowden, Mr Schrems, an Austrian, lodged a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner about the transfers of his personal data by Facebook Ireland ltd to the US under the Safe Harbour decision, Commission Decision 2000/520.

Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities

Eighty-five percent of United States citizens live in urban areas. However, research surrounding the resilience and sustainability of complex urban systems focuses largely on coastal megacities (>1 million people). Midsize cities differ from their larger counterparts due to tight urban-rural feedbacks with their immediate natural environments that result from heavy reliance and close management of local ecosystem services. They also may be less path-dependent than larger cities due to shorter average connection length among system components, contributing to higher responsiveness among social, infrastructural, and ecological feedbacks. These distinct midsize city features call for a framework that organizes information and concepts concerning the sustainability of midsize cities specifically. We argue that an integrative approach is necessary to capture properties emergent from the complex interactions of the social, infrastructural, and ecological subsystems that comprise a city system. We suggest approaches to estimate the relative resilience of midsize cities, and include an example assessment to illustrate one such estimation approach. Resilience assessments of a midsize city can be used to examine why some cities end up on sustainable paths while others diverge to unsustainable paths, and which feedbacks may be partially responsible. They also provide insight into how city planners and decision makers can use information about the resilience of midsize cities undergoing growth or shrinkage relative to their larger and smaller counterparts, to transform them into long-term, sustainable social-ecological systems.

Title IV – Space Resource Exploration and Utilization of the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act: A Legal and Political Assessment

On November 25, 2015, the President of the United States (US) signed into law the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act. This event received extensive coverage, both in the press and legal literature, mostly due to the content of its Title IV dedicated to Space Resource Exploration and Utilization. Pursuant to Title IV, US citizens shall be entitled under US law to collect, own, transport and sell asteroid and space resources that they have obtained in the course of resource recovery operations. Considering that international space law does not clarify whether space resources can be appropriated and used for commercial purposes, the enactment of the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act has been deemed by some commentators to amount to a breach of the international obligations of the US. In light of this controversy, the purpose of the present paper is to assess the consistency of the Act with international space law and to discuss the legal and political implications related to its adoption and (future) implementation.

Perceptions of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising and the Older Adult Population.

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has become a prominent feature of our society and reaches many consumers through their televisions, radios, and computer screens. In 2004, the average United States citizen was exposed to more than 16 hours of DTCA per year, and the number of hours has steadily increased. Drug advertising is a multi-billion dollar business for pharmaceutical manufacturers and affects public perception of medications, both prescription and over-the counter. Studies have shown advertisements can have both positive and negative effects, including educating consumers, but can harm the patient-physician relationship. This article addresses the perceptions older adults have toward DTCA and discusses how pharmacists can play a role in helping older adults understand and effectively use DTCA.

Identification and Treatment of Human Trafficking Victims in the Emergency Department: A Case Report

BackgroundHuman trafficking victims experience extreme exploitation and have unique health needs, yet too often go undetected by physicians and providers in the Emergency Department (ED). We report a clinical case of human trafficking of a white, English-speaking United States citizen and discuss the features of presentation and treatment options for human trafficking victims upon presentation to the ED. Case ReportA 29-year-old woman with a past medical history significant for intravenous drug abuse and recent relapse presented to the ED after a reported sexual assault. The patient was discharged that evening and returned to the ED the following day acutely suicidal. The patient divulged that she had been kidnapped and raped at gunpoint by numerous individuals as a result of a debt owed to her drug dealers. Why Should an Emergency Physician be Aware of This?Many human trafficking victims present to an ED during the course of their exploitation. To that end, EDs provide one of a limited set of opportunities to intervene in the human trafficking cycle of exploitation, and physicians as well as other ED staff should be equipped to respond.

“It’s Like We Are Legally, Illegal”: Latino/a Youth Emphasize Barriers to Higher Education Using Photovoice

For a subset of undocumented immigrant youth who came to the United States (US), the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive action presents opportunities for advancement. In becoming, “DACA”-mented, youth are afforded certain privileges. However differential implementation of DACA on a state-by-state basis has important ramifications. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, academic researchers in North Carolina (NC) collaborated with a community-based youth advocacy organization to explore the question, “How does being an undocumented Latino/a affect my aspirations for higher education?” The research question was developed using the qualitative method of photovoice, a systematic research process that uses photography to engage participants in documenting and analyzing issues of concern. After photovoice was completed, a youth photovoice participant and two graduate student researchers conducted an extensive secondary analysis of the photovoice transcripts with support from a faculty researcher. Findings highlight the day-to-day challenges faced by DACA recipient youth unique to NC and provide evidence of how DACA, intended to improve opportunities, actually complicates educational motivations for “DACAmented” Latino/a youth in the state. Thus, this new status category, somewhere between undocumented and US Citizen Latino (i.e., “legally, illegal”), has unique implications for DACA youth working towards fulfilling their higher education ambitions.

Evolution of Physician-Centric Business Models Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

For decades, the cost of medical care in the United States has increased exponentially. United States citizens spend twice as much as their European counterparts on medical care. Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to ensure affordable healthcare to the citizens of the United States. PPACA legislation is creating a new paradigm in healthcare delivery and provider business models. The purpose of this case study was to explore physicians’ perspectives regarding physician-centric business models evolving under the requirements of the PPACA legislation. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews and questionnaires with a purposive sample of 75 participants across 20 medical specialties within the United States. Three universal themes emerged including (a) use of midlevel practitioners, (b) changes to provider practices, and (c) enhanced business education. Healthcare leaders may use the findings to advance the evolution of physician business models that meet the needs of healthcare stakeholders.

Does the Foreign Commerce Clause Authorize Congress to Criminalize Non-Commercial Illicit Sexual Acts Committed by U.S. Citizens after Traveling into Foreign Commerce?

This Article examines by what authority Congress may criminalize non-commercial illicit sexual acts committed by a United States citizen after traveling into foreign commerce. First, the Article discusses the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (“Optional Protocol”), a treaty created to fight against child sexual exploitation. Second, the Article explains the Necessary and Proper Clause and the Foreign Commerce Clause. Third, the Article details the facts of U.S. Bollinger, the district and appellate courts’ analyses, and the holding of each court. Fourth, this Article explores the split amongst the circuits regarding Congress’s authority and recommends a resolution.The author concludes by suggesting that the courts apply the Necessary and Proper Clause to decide issues involving a treaty. The courts most likely will remain split on whether the Foreign Commerce Clause authorizes Congress to criminalize non-commercial acts. Such a split may create a loophole that would prevent punishing citizens who commit illegal sexual acts while abroad. The Necessary and Proper Clause is a less controversial alternative, which with most courts are likely to agree.

Las drogas ilícitas en el conflicto armado de Colombia y el tema en la firma del acuerdo de paz: pasado, presente y futuro

La historia reciente de Colombia se ha caracterizado por la violencia motivada, fundamentalmente, por la concentración del poder político-económico en menos del 20 % de la población y la presencia de los “Señores de la Guerra” vinculados con narcotráfico. El procesamiento de cocaína para exportación fue un negocio promovido por estadounidenses en los años setenta y representa la mayor “bonanza económica ilegal” experimentada por el país. Este “oro blanco” es “la fuente de una larga serie de profundos y permanentes conflictosy procesos sociales y políticos que de alguna forma han conmocionado las bases de esta sociedad y los aparatos institucionales que la rigen” (Camacho Guizado, 1988). El narcotráfico ha beneficiado a muchos –guerrilleros, paramilitares, mafiosos y mercenarios de los EE. UU.–, pero también ha dejado numerosas víctimas que no han recibido reparación así como criminales en la impunidad. En el 2015, Colombia busca decididamente firmar el acuerdo para la paz, dentro del cual las drogas ilícitas serán asunto de salud pública y, con seguridad, de legalización.Revista Policía y Seguridad Pública 5(1) 2015: 301-352

Procedural Due Process Liberty Interests

The Supreme Court’s divided decision in Kerry v. Din, 135 S. Ct. 2128 (2015), shows the difficulty of defining liberty for purposes of procedural due process. Din, a United States citizen, claimed that she had been denied procedural due process when the State Department refused to grant an immigrant visa to her husband. Justice Scalia’s plurality opinion reasoned that Din had no liberty interest protected by procedural due process, while Justice Breyer’s dissent concluded that Din had such an interest based on fundamental rights involving marriage, the right of citizens to reside in the country, and statutory immigration preferences for spouses. The Din decision raises questions as to the content of procedural due process liberty. It also raises questions of the extent to which substantive constitutional rights and statutorily granted interests should be treated as liberty interests for purposes of procedural due process. While prior scholarship has answered a number of such questions with respect to property, no similar systematization has occurred with respect to liberty interests. This article undertakes to provide a taxonomy of liberty for purposes of procedural due process, and it analyses Kerry v. Din in light of those categories.

Historical Perspectives on an Expanded Role for Nursing

The 2010 Institute of Medicine report, the Future of Nursing, recommended that nurses work to the “full extent of their training” to address the primary healthcare needs of United States citizens. This article identifies and describes historical antecedents, cornerstone documents, and legislative acts that served to set the stage for today, laying the groundwork for an expanded role for advanced practice nurses in the 21st century. Beginning with Lillian Wald’s work in Henry Street Settlement in 1893, through Mary Breckenridge’s founding of the Frontier Nursing Service in 1925, the discussion describes how nurses provided access to care for thousands of urban and rural citizens throughout the United States in the past. The article also discusses political forces at midcentury and the creation of the nurse practitioner role with the premise that nurses can learn from these early initiatives to create new models for nurses’ roles in primary care today.