The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 27, 1992, Page 11, Image 11
use to
From Staff Reports ^
A large part of South Carolina's
criminal record's system, which is
based on a slow, confusing stream (
of paper, will speed up and be- (
come more accurate through an .
overhaul by USC's computer science
department.
The revamped system will keep
criminal justice agencies from hav
ing to maintain and constantly update
duplicate sets of computerized
records, according to Capt. Jim
Martin, director of criminal justice
information for the S.C. Law Enforcement
Division (SLED).
Eliminating duplication will also
cut costs and provide police with
more current records, he said.
Currently, local police, SLED,
he Department of Corrections and
other criminal justice agencies
don't use computers to share records
by General Sessions courts
in the state's 46 counties said
Reports sa;
to be diagr
By The Associated Press
People who smoke a pack or
more of cigarettes a day are twice
as likely to develop cataracts, and
up to one-fifth of U.S. cataract
cases may be caused by smoking,
according to two studies published
Wednesday.
The studies, reported in the
Journal of the American Medical
Association, tracked 17,824 male
U.S. physicians from 1982 through
1987 and 50,828 female U.S.
nurses from 1980 through 1988.
Among the doctors, men who
smoked 20 or more cigarettes a
day were 2.05 times more likely to
be diagnosed with a cataract than
those who never smoked.
Among the nurses, women who
smoked 35 or more cigarettes a
day had 1.63 times the likelihood
of undergoing cataract surgery as
non-smokers.
Cataracts, the clouding of the
eye lenses, affect about 3 million
Americans.
"If one assumes a roughly twofrvlH
in/-?r<?oc??H riclr rvf ratarart ac?ru
IUAU iiitiCdLiCU A AJA4. Oi tuim Uti
ciated with smoking,
then...approximately 20 percent of
cataract cases are attributable to
smoking in the U.S. population,"
according to an editorial accompanying
the study.
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Lamda Chi Alpha's Kenny Uj
Tuesday set up for sorority rush
overhai]
Canton Matthews, the USC asso:iate
professor who led the project.
SLED provides a statewide
crime computer with information
on more than 5 million crimes and
about 660,000 offenders, Martin
said.
But, the information from General
Sessions courts reached SLED
only after other agencies use court
documents to tvne the same infor
mation into their computers, he
said.
Martin said it can take weeks
for the information to get to
SLED.
"We're just inundated with information.
Our clerks have to keyenter
all of the court information
into the computer again," Capt.
Jim Martin said. "We're trying to
get all of the court information directly
from the clerks of court in
the state, electronically."
Working on a grant fron SLED,
y smokers
losed with
"For now, it appears that the litany
of ills associated with smoking
is growing, as we add to it cataracts,
the world's leading cause
of blindness," continued the editorial,
by Sheila West of the Dana
Center for Preventive Ophthalmology
at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
"For now, it appears
that the litany of ills associated
with smoking is
growing, as we add to it
cataracts, the world's
leading cause of
blindness."
Sheila West
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Researchers who studied the
men said smoking may reduce the
number of nutrients in blood
plasma that keep the lens clear.
Of the men studied, 1,188
smoked 20 or more cigarettes
daily, and 59 cataracts developed
among them, a rate of 2.5 cataracts
per 100 eyes. Among the 9,045
subjects who never smoked, 228
cataracts developed, a rate of about
1.3 per 100 eyes.
Smokers of fewer than 20 ci
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il state ci
(JSC's computer experts have de- ni
vised a new system that will have m
courts in the state's 46 counties te
transmitting vital records directly
to SLED, where other agencies Sp
have access to it, Matthews said. Qr
For legal reasons, the paper document
system will be maintained
as backup.
qi
SLED's records computer is al- e:
ready the main source for chronological
criminal history informa- C
tion in the state. Various agencies
use 1,400 terminals located acros
the state to retrieve information on
criminals and suspects, Martin li
said. c
In addition to law enforcement, l
the records are an important tool te
for prosecutors, judges, and correc- p
tions and probation officials as offenders
pass through the legal
system. tJ
a
Accuracy will be improved by p
eliminating the need for a number r
of agencies to type the same j
more apt
cataracts |
garettes daily had no increased risk
compared with non-smokers.
Former smokers had 1.4 times
the risk of non-smokers for one
type of cataract, but no increased
risk for another.
Further study is needed to determine
whether a "dose-response"
relationship exists ? that is, if the
more someone smokes the greater
they are at risk of developing cataracts
? said Dr. William G.
Christen, an instructor at the Harvard
University Medical School
and the study's lead author.
In the nurses' study, past smokers
of more than 35 cigarettes a
day had about the same increased
risk of developing cataracts, even
10 years after they'd quit, as people
who still smoked 35 or more
cigarettes daily.
Unlike the doctors' study, the
nurses' study also showed a proportional
increase in cataract risk
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smoked.
The nurses' study was led by
Susan E. Hankinson, an epidemiologist
at Brigham and Women's
Hospital and a research associate
at Harvard Medical School.
1 Citadel ha;
By The Associated Press
Citadel officials may have a susI
pect in the hazing of a black cadet
who refused to sing "Dixie," but
the cadet's father and a city counI
cilman split on how thoroughly the
I school will investigate.
The cadet found a noose hangIing
from his bunk.
^ftiircpc ca\r c aa! Affirialc
V/ V/Ul WO OUJ OV11V/V1 VAA iVlUIU
have a suspect in the Thursday
night incident, The Post & Courier
reported today.
South Carolina
From Staff Reports
South Carolina's economic recovery,
like that of the country at
large, has been "sputtering," according
to the latest issue of South
Carolina Economic Indicators.
"The pace of business activity
has been slow to pick up, in part
because companies have kept a
tight reign on payrolls," said the
report, which is published by the
University of South Carolina College
of Business Administration
and the state Employment Security
Commission.
"And without the stimulus of
strong consumer spending, construction
and business-fixed investment,
the economy remains slug
gish," the report said.
Of the 16 indicators monitored
in June 12 were negative and four
were positive. For the second
straight month, the Composite Indices
of both the Leading and
Coincident Indicators fell. Employment
growth stalled in many
^ industries.
The June Index of Leading Indi
cators, which tends to foreshadow
future economic barometer since
>
December 1991. Of the eight Generally
Leading Indicators, six declined
and two advanced.
riminal r
imes, addresses and other infor- ''
ation into each agency's compu- year:
r, Matthews said. drug
tenc<
According to Martin, one mistelling
can produce an incomplete
inaccurate criminal record. "W
wi1
By getting the criminal records c|e
lformation to SLED more ,,
LUCKiy, III V_ llcUlCMUIl, 1VJI
cample, will have an easier time
taring information with police in 39'
lemson or Connecticut, Martin - gel
ma
cic
The SLED crime computer is *
nked to FBI and other nationwide
riminal identification systems.
Matthews and his colleagues at
ISC also devised a uniform sys;m
of identifying crimes in comuter
code.
Many agencies had been using a q
hree-digit code to identify crimes, ^
ind SLED called in USC's ex- ma(
lerts, in part, because the state had
un out of three-digit numbers to
natch to crimes, Martin said. sai(j
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Linda Szymanski experiments in s
s suspect in
Cadet urged tc
Citadel spokesman Ben Legare
would not comment. w*
sai
However, Jimmy Jones of w(
Greenville, chairman of The Citadel
Board of Visitors, said it ap- bi<
peared only one cadet was in- ra(
volved. The State Law Enforce- ta(
ment Division is investigating pr
whether any civil rights laws have ^
been violated. it
economy slugg
The "biggest disappointment" in n
the Leading Indicators, said the re- rt
pun, waj> an liioicasc 111 uuciiipiuy- jj
ment insurance benefits, which oi
jumped 13.5 percent. Total bene- tc
fits paid to jobless South Carolinians
reached their highest level in
nearly a year. Initital claims for *
unemployment insurance also ?
jumped in June, to about the same (
level as a year earlier. j
Still, the state's unemployment 1
rate actually improved in June, the 1
report said, falling from 6.6 to 6.3
percent. This compares to a level i
of 7.4 percent in January. ?
Another sign of vitality was 1
found in new business incorpora- 1
tions, which increased from 451 to
Non-farm job vacancies declined
11.8 percent, testing a new low for
1992. The average manufacturing
workweek edged down from 42.1
to 41.9 hours, bringing this indicator
back to the April level. Residential
construction fell 22.3 percent
in June.
The June Index of Coincident
Indicators, which indicates current
economic conditions, dropped 0.4
percent. Of the eight Coincident
Economic Indicators, six declined.
The only improvements were in
ecords
ie numbers ran out in recent Matthe
s as the Legislature added new able to f(
; crimes and minimum sen- take part
is to the books. . Martin s;
??m^^_ agencies
time anc
fe're just inundated duplicate
th information. Our Mattiu
rks have to key-enter ence de
of the court informa
ii mm me uuinpuici Aaminis
ain. We're trying to Much
t all of the court infor- loped tc
ition directly from the that inci
irks of court in the SLED'
ite, electronically." Sentenc
' ' sion, cc
Capt. Jim Martin ^vlp
SLED Matt
comput
with fe
ither agencies never adopted Abhijit
uniform three-digit code which Valtoru
ie it virtually impossible to and Dr.
lyze some crime statistics and ger te
impact of new laws, officials comput
I. informs
.jg . /'4M^Vj|^H
i < JHB
icience class where she is trying to
hazing inci
) sing 'Dixie' J
vive a
The freshmen cadet s father, cadet'
10 asked not to be identified,
d Tuesday he thought the school ut
>uld investigate thoroughly.
The man said he was aware ^ 1
ick cadets have been victims of colleg
ce-related incidents at The Ci- Kii
del. But he said the school's black
esident, Lt. Gen. Claudius E. ing a|
atts III, promised to try and stop cist a
and tl
ish, business reir
ew car registrations and non- factui
ssidential construction permits. ?-2 a
r?th indirafors rpvprcpd thp ln?c? Retai
f the previous month, recovering slid
) roughly their April levels. latesi
avail;
Total non-agricultural employnent
shrank 1.1 percent. Textile F"
ind related employment, a key dex <
:omponent of the state's job base, stood
vas off 1,100, declining for the ^e s
hird straight month. Durable mear
?oods manufacturing employment jor e
fell by 600. tore(
Weekly earnings, adjusted for ceas
inflation, and manhours in manuWCISC
For your back-to-s
0 TARGI
1550 Bush River Rd., Columbia, S
astern
ws said the state won't be
)rce counties and cities to
in the new system. But,
aid he expects almost all
will participate to save
1 money by eliminating
an.
jws said the computer scipartment's
recommenda:re
recently sent to SLED
S.C. Department of Court
tration.
of the report was deve>gether
with a committee
luded representatives from
court administration, the
ing Guidelines Commis rrections
department and
bation, parole and pardon
hews developed the new
er coding system together
llow faculty members Dr.
Sengupta and Dr. Marco
L He worked with Sengupta
Joseph Johnson on the lonrm
project involving
er-to-computer transfers of
ition between agencies.
jf
Lea Clayton/The Gamecock
i earn a PhD.
dent
lings will change and get betthis
country is going to suris
a nation, it has to stop," the
s father said.
Charleston Councilman JerCinloch
said he did not have
nuch faith in the military
e.
lloch said Tuesday that the
community is "tired of hearX)ut
The Citadel and their rattitudes.
This is foolishness,
lis can't continue to go on."
iains slow
ring both receded slightly, by
ind 0.3 percent, respectively.
1 sales, adjusted for inflation,
3.7 percent during May, the
t month for which data are
able.
aally, the June Diffusion In)f
Major Employment Sectors
I at a "paltry" 13.6 percent for
second month in a row. This
is that only one of the 11 ma:mploymeny
categories moniI
increased, while nine dennH
nno uioc nnrhanopd
VCU CUIU V/I1V " uo u?iv*?w*c
:-fm
chool needs,,,
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C 29210, (803) 798-6411