RICHMOND, VA (WTVR)-? Dianne L. Gadow, the superintendent of Richmond?s Juvenile Detention Center, has been relieved of her duties by the mayor and a new management team has been set up to correct issues that led the center to be placed on probation last week by the Virginia State Board of Juvenile Justice.
?Major Jones gave us a very clear directive that we had to take very quick and aggressive action in turning the center around,? Richmond Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Carolyn Graham told CBS-6. ?We will finish the work before we go back to the board in April.?
The mayor?s office released this statement Tuesday afternoon: ?Effective January 16, 2012, the superintendent of the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center has been relieved of her duties and Jack Scott, Executive Director of the Crater Youth Commission in Petersburg, has been named interim superintendent. Chuck Kehoe, director of the Richmond Department of Justice Services (RDJS) will serve as the lead for the RJDC organization?s Correction Action Plan. Also, Charles Lampkin from RDJS has been named as the interim assistant superintendent.?
Who is Dianne Gadow, the superintendent relieved of her duties?
Even though she ran one of the tougher detention facilities in the state, she?s never been quoted in a news story or given a TV interview.
Gadow, a recognized juvenile corrections reformer, was brought here two years ago to turn Richmond?s program around.
Records indicate Gadow served as the Deputy Director of Operations for the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections.
She ran a juvenile correction center in Delaware, and worked with Youth Services in Colorado. She?s been the Chairperson of the American Correctional Association Juvenile Corrections Committee. And she?s known for building programs that focus on mental health, special education and other issues to get offenders out of the incarceration loop.
She came here with a three-to-five-year plan to do that. But persistent problems at the 60-bed detention center continue after two years on the job, including lingering training shortcoming, maintenance and some security and safety issues.
That?s why the state Board of Juvenile Justice put the facility on probation last week. The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP has been pushing for investigations and corrective actions. That organization?s executive director, King Salim Khalfani, has called the center a ?cesspool of corruption.?
In 2003, when Gadow ran the detention facility in Delaware, she was sued for racial and sexual discrimination in federal court for suspending an employee who had violated protocol. That case was summarily dismissed.
Was her tenure here in Richmond a case of a bad fit, or did she run into a system that was resistant to reform?
When she was the juvenile corrections administrator for Arizona, she wrote an article about modern challenges facing those trying to turn around young offenders. She urged a community- and government-wide approach to fixing one of society?s toughest problems ? turning youthful offenders around.
She quoted President Eisenhower?s secretary of state, saying: ?"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."
Cancer studies warn over NHS cost-cuttingPublic release date: 16-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Paul Symonds paul.symonds@uhl-tr.nhs.uk 44-116-258-6294 University of Leicester
Researchers highlight high levels of doctor-patient confidence and trust
A leading cancer researcher has identified very high levels of doctor-patient trust and confidence within the NHS.
University of Leicester researcher Professor Paul Symonds also highlights the risk of jeopardizing this record of success if measures to become more cost effective are not carefully thought through and implemented.
In two papers published this month in the journal Clinical Oncology, Professor Paul Symonds of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, assesses attitudes and beliefs concerning cancer care in the UK.
In one paper, Professor Symonds, who is also a consultant at Leicester's Hospitals, and researcher Karen Lord highlight the importance of closer clinical relationships between physicians and cancer patients in helping patients cope with both treatment and diagnosis.
He said: "It is widely accepted that low trust between a cancer patient and their doctor can influence treatment outcome. The good news is that in Leicester we have found a very high level of trust in both hospital and primary care doctors. We must, however, understand the needs of particular patients when sharing sensitive information about the disease and treatment in order to maintain this trust."
Professor Symonds research, funded by Hope Against Cancer, measured trust in healthcare professionals amongst ethnically diverse cancer patients and assessed the effect of this trust on the patients' ability to cope when diagnosed with cancer.
Between September 2007 and January 2010, 279 patients, who were aware they had cancer, entered the study at the Leicestershire Cancer Centre. Researchers found that there was a high level of trust in local hospital doctors in both groups with a confidence that hospital doctors would give the best possible treatment. Researchers also found that:
Over 90% of patients regarded their hospital doctors as honest, competent and caring.
A greater understanding by the patient of their illness is a strong predictor of trust.
The British South Asian community had slightly less trust in their GPs but still preferred the general practitioner to be the key communicator of sensitive information.
Those who did not have this level of trust and had more symptoms of depression were less sure that doctors always listened to their concerns.
Women and depressed patients had a higher preference for seeing doctors of the same gender with Asian women being more particular on this matter.
More patients among the British South Asian community wished to receive sensitive information from someone of a similar religion or background.
Professor Symonds warned against the effect of NHS cost cutting eroding patient trust as has been observed in the USA.
"As we enter an age of austerity we must do our best to preserve this very high level of trust among cancer patients," urged Professor Symonds. "Clearly it is important that cost rather than cost-effectiveness should not be an overriding factor in cancer treatment to assure the highest level of success and hospital doctors and GPs must work in a partnership to meet the needs of the patient."
In a separate study also published in the same journal the Leicester researchers compared knowledge about the outcome of cancer treatment and beliefs about the causes of cancer among British South Asian cancer patients and beliefs held by British White cancer patients and the impact of these beliefs upon the patients' mental health.
The vast majority believed cancer to be curable, with only 10.6% of the British South Asian group and 2.7% of the British White group thinking it was incurable. Out of the total sample, 93% understood the advantages of early screening.
The way patients understand cancer can have a major impact on how they cope with it psychologically. This study is part of a wider investigation with the long-term aim of improving psychological support of cancer patients.
###
Notes to Editors: Further details are available from Paul Symonds, Professor of Clinical Oncology, Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, University of Leicester, tel 0116 258 6294, email paul.symonds@uhl-tr.nhs.uk
Hope Against Cancer
Hope Against Cancer, formally known as the Hope Foundation, was established in 2003 to increase the funds available for cancer research in Leicestershire and Rutland to help improve the area's status as a leading centre for cancer research.
Surveys demonstrate that when patients with cancer are treated at cancer centres and units carrying out research, outcomes are significantly improved.
Cancer research has historically been poorly funded in Leicestershire and Rutland and all money raised by the Hope will be used exclusively to fund vital cancer research in this area. Hope currently funds 12 research fellowships looking at a range of cancers and is grateful for the support of the Universities of Leicester, Loughborough and De Montfort
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Cancer studies warn over NHS cost-cuttingPublic release date: 16-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Paul Symonds paul.symonds@uhl-tr.nhs.uk 44-116-258-6294 University of Leicester
Researchers highlight high levels of doctor-patient confidence and trust
A leading cancer researcher has identified very high levels of doctor-patient trust and confidence within the NHS.
University of Leicester researcher Professor Paul Symonds also highlights the risk of jeopardizing this record of success if measures to become more cost effective are not carefully thought through and implemented.
In two papers published this month in the journal Clinical Oncology, Professor Paul Symonds of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, assesses attitudes and beliefs concerning cancer care in the UK.
In one paper, Professor Symonds, who is also a consultant at Leicester's Hospitals, and researcher Karen Lord highlight the importance of closer clinical relationships between physicians and cancer patients in helping patients cope with both treatment and diagnosis.
He said: "It is widely accepted that low trust between a cancer patient and their doctor can influence treatment outcome. The good news is that in Leicester we have found a very high level of trust in both hospital and primary care doctors. We must, however, understand the needs of particular patients when sharing sensitive information about the disease and treatment in order to maintain this trust."
Professor Symonds research, funded by Hope Against Cancer, measured trust in healthcare professionals amongst ethnically diverse cancer patients and assessed the effect of this trust on the patients' ability to cope when diagnosed with cancer.
Between September 2007 and January 2010, 279 patients, who were aware they had cancer, entered the study at the Leicestershire Cancer Centre. Researchers found that there was a high level of trust in local hospital doctors in both groups with a confidence that hospital doctors would give the best possible treatment. Researchers also found that:
Over 90% of patients regarded their hospital doctors as honest, competent and caring.
A greater understanding by the patient of their illness is a strong predictor of trust.
The British South Asian community had slightly less trust in their GPs but still preferred the general practitioner to be the key communicator of sensitive information.
Those who did not have this level of trust and had more symptoms of depression were less sure that doctors always listened to their concerns.
Women and depressed patients had a higher preference for seeing doctors of the same gender with Asian women being more particular on this matter.
More patients among the British South Asian community wished to receive sensitive information from someone of a similar religion or background.
Professor Symonds warned against the effect of NHS cost cutting eroding patient trust as has been observed in the USA.
"As we enter an age of austerity we must do our best to preserve this very high level of trust among cancer patients," urged Professor Symonds. "Clearly it is important that cost rather than cost-effectiveness should not be an overriding factor in cancer treatment to assure the highest level of success and hospital doctors and GPs must work in a partnership to meet the needs of the patient."
In a separate study also published in the same journal the Leicester researchers compared knowledge about the outcome of cancer treatment and beliefs about the causes of cancer among British South Asian cancer patients and beliefs held by British White cancer patients and the impact of these beliefs upon the patients' mental health.
The vast majority believed cancer to be curable, with only 10.6% of the British South Asian group and 2.7% of the British White group thinking it was incurable. Out of the total sample, 93% understood the advantages of early screening.
The way patients understand cancer can have a major impact on how they cope with it psychologically. This study is part of a wider investigation with the long-term aim of improving psychological support of cancer patients.
###
Notes to Editors: Further details are available from Paul Symonds, Professor of Clinical Oncology, Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, University of Leicester, tel 0116 258 6294, email paul.symonds@uhl-tr.nhs.uk
Hope Against Cancer
Hope Against Cancer, formally known as the Hope Foundation, was established in 2003 to increase the funds available for cancer research in Leicestershire and Rutland to help improve the area's status as a leading centre for cancer research.
Surveys demonstrate that when patients with cancer are treated at cancer centres and units carrying out research, outcomes are significantly improved.
Cancer research has historically been poorly funded in Leicestershire and Rutland and all money raised by the Hope will be used exclusively to fund vital cancer research in this area. Hope currently funds 12 research fellowships looking at a range of cancers and is grateful for the support of the Universities of Leicester, Loughborough and De Montfort
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
In August, I remember seeing YouTube links for the band One Like Son, who recorded an entire song using only their iPhones?and a few iPhone peripherals (in addition to their instruments and drum programs). Today, I received a press release indicating that the band have finished recording an entire 10 song album using the same setup. Intrigued, I contacted Stephen Poff, the mastermind behind the record, to get a few more details about the impetus and methods behind the project.
Incubators are playing an increasingly vital role in acquiring meaningful investment for first-time entrepreneurs. TechCrunch reported that elite accelerators like Y Combinator receive on average one application every minute, and AngelPad reminds its participants that it is many times more selective than the Harvard Business School. Incubators ask for a 2 to 10 percent stake in your company, a sum that could alternatively be used to attract a junior co-founder or provide meaningful ownership to the first few engineers you enlist. In return, incubators offer intensive coaching, networking with other founders, and warm introductions to likely investors. Incubators give first-time entrepreneurs and international teams alike a crucial link to Silicon Valley.
MULTAN, Pakistan - An explosion on Sunday near a Shiite Muslim procession in the central Pakistani town of Khanpur killed 18 people and wounded at least 30, police and emergency services officials said.
The explosion went off as the mourners came out of a mosque, District Police Chief Sohail Chatta told The Associated Press. The bomb appeared to have been planted ahead of time in the path of the procession, he said.
Hundreds of Pakistani Shiites had gathered in the town of Khanpur in Punjab province for a traditional procession to mark the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered seventh-century figure.
The processions of Shiite Muslims, who make up about 20 percent of Pakistan's population, are often attacked by militant Sunni Muslim groups who consider them apostates of Islam.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
TAMPA, Fla. ? The Kosovo-born American citizen accused of plotting bomb attacks around Tampa was a loner who had grown increasingly radical in his Muslim faith and publicly railed against Jews and Christians in videos he posted on the Internet, according to relatives and friends.
Sami Osmakac's life in the U.S. began about a dozen years ago, when he was 13 and his family immigrated to the U.S., according to a video he posted on YouTube. Those who know Osmakac said he mostly kept to himself as a high school student who loved rap music and rapped about bombs and killing in a song he made with a friend. As he grew older, they said, he grew increasingly confrontational: One Tampa-area activist said Osmakac physically threatened him, and Osmakac was jailed on charges that he head-butted a Christian preacher as the two argued over religion outside a Lady Gaga concert.
Osmakac, 25, is now jailed on a federal charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and could face life in prison if convicted. U.S. authorities say he planned to use a car bomb, assault rifle and other explosives in an Islamist-inspired attack on various locations around Tampa, including a sheriff's office.
His family in Florida has said the charges are untrue.
Family members told The AP that Osmakac was born in the village of Lubizde in Kosovo, a tiny hamlet of scattered houses near the Cursed Mountains, a row of snowcapped peaks that divide Kosovo from Albania. The area is home to many adherents to Sufism, a mystical Islamic order whose members often pray over the tombs of revered saints. The Osmakacs are followers of a Sufi sect that has its own shrine just outside the village. Kosovo's tiny Roman Catholic minority also resides in the area, as the village next to Lubizde, Dedaj, is composed entirely of Roman Catholic ethnic Albanians.
Osmakac spent his early years in a home shared by his father and two uncles, but difficult living conditions and simmering ethnic intolerance sent the family searching for prosperity elsewhere. Osmakac's family, like many that fled, brought their traditional trade of baking to what are now Croatia and Bosnia.
Osmakac's family was in Bosnia during the bloodiest of the ethnic wars of the 1990s, which left more than 100,000 dead, and eventually fled to Germany and then the U.S.
As a child, Osmakac was "a quiet and fun boy," said his aunt, Time Osmankaj. She said his family regularly sent money home to relatives trying to eke out a living as the wars left those who remained extremely poor.
Osmankaj said the family returned to Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, for visits during the summer months. But in recent years they noticed a change in Sami, who grew a beard, donned religious garments, and was frequently accompanied by two devout Muslims from Albania and two from Bosnia. He also began to shun his relatives during his trips to Kosovo.
His aunt said she learned of his last visit in October 2011 through neighbors and that she did not meet with him. Authorities in Kosovo have said he used those visits to meet with Islamic radicals there.
Islam came to Kosovo with the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 15th century, but it had not grown political until more recently. For instance, hundreds of Muslims have taken to the streets to protest a ban imposed by Kosovo authorities on wearing headscarves in schools. Protesters also have demanded that new mosques be built to accommodate a growing number of faithful after a Roman Catholic cathedral was built last year in the center of the capital, Pristina.
The increase in religious tensions has raised concerns that U.S. soldiers serving as part of a NATO-led peacekeeping force could be targeted in attacks.
Avni Osmakac told WTVT-TV in Tampa that his brother had tried to travel to Saudi Arabia last year so he could study Islam, but that he had problems with his visa and never got farther than Turkey. Sami Osmakac wanted to become an imam and teach Islam in the Middle East, his brother said.
Osmakac's family had settled in Pinellas Park, Fla., where his father opened a bakery and bought a home. There, Osmakac attended at least two high schools and was mostly a loner, classmate Alan Stokling wrote in an email to The AP.
"We were just the `ghosts' at Lakewood High School," he wrote. "He was one of those government rebel types. ... All of our conversations consisted of him talking about how stupid everybody at the school was. Not just the students, but the teachers, the people who financed institutions like it."
Stokling said the two did have something in common: a love of rap music. Stokling said Osmakac had a friend with a studio set up in his room and asked Stokling if he wanted to make a song together. Osmakac recorded his part ? he was alone while recording ? and Stokling recorded his section.
The next day, Osmakac gave Stokling the CD. "Sami's part came on and he was talking about murder and bombing and stuff," Stokling recalled. "I wasn't surprised by that. It wasn't anything different from regular hip-hop songs."
What was different was the song's ending: Stokling said Osmakac rapped about killing Jews.
"The weirdest ad libs I'd ever heard," Stokling said. "They were so beyond the realm of what was accepted back then as far as what was a consistency in the realm of a rap song that it was comical."
The two discussed religion only once, when Osmakac asked about Stokling's religion. Stokling recalled that when he said he was a Christian, Osmakac "got kind of quiet then started laughing to himself under his breath in a smug fashion. In his own mind he seemed to be an elitist. That's the vibe I got from him."
Osmakac's run-in with the preacher outside the Lady Gaga concert in April 2011 was far less subtle. According to police accounts of the fight, which the preacher recorded on video, Osmakac said, thumping his heart with his fist for emphasis: "My message is, if you all don't accept Islam, you're going to hell."
At the mosque where Osmakac began worshipping in 2010, he mostly kept to himself. However, he occasionally had run-ins with other area Muslims. At the mosque, he and another man were cited for trespassing in November of that year after a heated discussion with Ahmed Batrawy, vice president of the Islamic Society of Pinellas County.
In another instance, he accused the Council on American-Islamic Relations of being an "infidel organization," said Hassan Shibly, executive director of the council's Tampa office. And Ahmed Bedier, a Muslim community activist and radio host, said Osmakac had threatened him because Bedier's organization encourages minorities to get involved in politics.
"He thought I was taking people out of the faith," Bedier said. "On at least one time, he got very close as if he was going to hit me, and someone held him back."
Bedier reported Osmakac's behavior to authorities more than a year and a half ago. However, he said Osmakac's hatred was so overt that many people suspected he may have been a government informant.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t3-wTypA3orEtyIBGBKfznl4vyoFSZ7e_uWT8WnB0Q18Vk8gTcDS7PhEVFP-l6hKn89V5FU_BBr9_RIyo6XvEna3ckgS0ilfMjhE2wwiI=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 16-Jan-2012
Share ] 
In August, I remember seeing YouTube links for the band 
Incubators are playing an increasingly vital role in acquiring meaningful investment for first-time entrepreneurs.