Within the majority of learners' years in high school, bullying is one common experience that pervades those years of transitioning to adulthood. The bullying phenomenon has been studied over a few decades and we have basically come to understand that bullying is any situation where a perpetrator, over a period, continually behaves aggressively towards another individual who cannot defend themselves; here an imbalance of power is accentuated. This has been studied in recent years with the increasing reports of fatalities among high school learners who have resorted to suicide and self-harm as a solution. In the current digital age, the extent of bullying is faster and reaches further, and as such, more dynamics seem to be involved in the mix. The role of technology in improving the way we live and do things has also extended to the way crimes and injustice are being meted out in society. Youths and adolescents, particularly high school learners have been noted to have a phenomenal adoption of technology. They are also noted to increasingly acquire the most updated mobile technology devices and are therefore a fit sample for examining mobile bullying. In addition, more studies are finding out distinct classifications such as bully, victim and bully-victims, with the bully-victim studies just beginning to gain attention. As with the more familiar traditional bullying, fundamental psychological, social and economic factors largely predict the exhibiting of bully-victim characteristics. Some studies have found that the consequences are, however, more severe within the group but not without some inconsistencies in findings; hence the need to investigate and begin to proffer the right interventions or solutions. This current study set out to investigate characteristics of female mobile bully-victim behaviours amidst claims that they are a minority and so no special attention need be given to them. A pilot study, conducted by this researcher, examining the bully-victim subgroup from previous cyberbullying research studies (Kabiawu & Kyobe, 2016), found the group exists and is fast gaining more popularity in research. Further examination of literature found the discourse around age factor in prevalence, with gender variances, interventions, and country differences, among others. Many of the past studies on gender variance enquiries were conflicting, interventions were largely not technology-oriented, and studies were mostly from outside the continent of Africa. This stirred up the interest in studying female mobile bully-victims in South African high school students and the exploration of a general (i.e. non-gender-specific) technical intervention. The study followed a pragmatic philosophy and mixed method in collecting and analyzing the data. The study was carried out in Cape Town, South Africa; eight schools agreed to participate in the survey, and 2632 responses were collected from a range of schools (consisting both public and independent schools). Of these, 911 were females and 199 bully-victims, placing the group in a minority position. This maintained the keen interest in understanding the issues that face them rather than overlooking the subgroup as some studies would argue. Additionally, the study vii entailed the development of an IT artefact in the form of a mobile application, called “The BullsEye!” through a Design Science process. The aim of the artefact was to proffer a technical intervention and observe the usefulness of the artefact in dealing with general bullying as well as for addressing, mitigating and providing support for bullying. The study collected information quantitatively to explore the differences in age, school grade, type of school, family type, ethnicity and perceptions of interventions from students. This process was also used to recruit interested students in designing the mobile app intervention to address the secondary aspect of the research. The study predicted that at different ages and school grades, female mobile bullyvictim behaviours would be different. It also proposed that these behaviours exhibited by bully-victims would differ when the school type, ethnicity and family from which students come, are compared. When interventions by teachers, family and friends were compared, the study predicted that the female bully-victim behaviours exhibited would not be same, depending on the perception of the level of intervention the students received. These hypotheses were tested empirically using quantitative methods to check the analysis of the variance of the mean scores of the collected data. The results of the analysis of variance showed findings that resulted in some partial and some strong acceptance of the hypotheses. As expected, there were age and grade differences observed among the behaviours of the female bully-victims surveyed. The younger in age and grade these students were, the more of the behaviours were found to be exhibited by them. Students from conventional families with two parents were expected to exhibit fewer female bully-victim characteristics, but this was not necessarily the finding in the study and inconsistent with most previous studies. The prediction on ethnicity was also partially accepted due to mixed indications according to findings. Establishing the respondents' ethnicity showed a group of students who did not wish to reveal their ethnicity but were rife in bully-victim behaviour via phone calls, email and SMS's. This raised a question of whether their societal status affected their behaviour. The type of school was also found not to accurately predict female bully-victim behaviours in this study as expected or in accordance to majority of existing literature. There was, however, evidence of a distinct social media mechanism of bullying/victimization peculiar to an Independent school in relation to other schools. The prediction on interventions, while being partially supported, provided a useful insight into strengthening the need to appreciate and continually invest in the quality of interventions provided to address mobile bullying. Generally, the findings revealed that female mobile bully victims had significantly higher experience of being victims (i.e. had been bullied) than those who were not. This may be due to failings in the provision for reporting issues or the way reports are being handled, which is another useful insight into interventions. The artefact designed as an intervention in this study also showed high acceptance of the app. This can be attributed to the fact that the design process followed a methodology that is grounded in practice and in the body of knowledge. This was embellished by emerging methodologies of involving the intended users, though schoolchildren, in the evolution of the artefact design. The implication of these findings is that there may be current frameworks addressing female mobile bully-victim behaviour at school and family levels; however, focus of interventions should be on teaching the right culture with regards to mobile phone use. This gives credence to the second objective of this study, which was to design a digital intervention. The artefact was designed to empower victims and bystanders, the purpose of which seemed to have been achieved with a high rate of approval for the app. The knowledge gained from this phase, despite the limitations, points that visual appeal is important when designing for high school students. It also showed that students are interested in learning in an environment free of adult presence or supervision. However, many more strategies and principles can be applied to intervene from different perspectives to create a more wholistic solution. This knowledge is useful for future works that seek to include their input in design process. The understanding of these characteristic mechanisms is important in proffering relevant interventions as the distinct female bully-victim group is newly gaining attention. This is useful in theory development, especially feminist theories on violence as well as where and how to target interventions. This impacts practice in terms of knowledge of how female mobile bully-victims operate and how one can begin to empower them to protect themselves and reflect on their online and mobile phone behaviour. Therefore, for Information Systems practice, this study provides a worthwhile contribution, especially in answering questions such as, what information systems and interventions should be developed and how to maximize such systems for their intended learning purposes. From the lessons learned in this study, the research also contributes by proposing considerations for future and further research.

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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Linda Thurston / Previous research examined various factors of program design, specific program curriculum, and student and faculty attitudes, but repeated studies and methodology questions have been raised with some of the research. Much of the research in the field has examined specific program effectiveness where the researcher is the author of the program or curriculum being used. This study examines the effects of programs designed to reduce school violence and the impact they have on reducing out of school suspensions (injury and non-injury). The three programs examined are bully prevention programs, peer mediation programs, and conflict resolution programs used in middle schools. This study does not focus on a specific curriculum, but has chosen independent measures that have been identified to reduce out of school suspensions. The independent variables for this study are: 1) type of programming, 2) number of lessons being taught, 3) administration, 4) counselor to student ratio, and 5) interaction effects. The research questions guiding this study were: 1) Which, if any, violence prevention programs are used in middle schools in the state of Kansas? 2) Is there a main effect for violence reduction program on violent incidents resulting in out of school suspensions (injury and non-injury) reported? 3) Is there a main effect for the number of counselors to students on the number of violent incidents resulting in out of school suspensions (injury and non-injury) reported? 4) Are there main effects or interaction effects for number of lessons and method of administration on the number of violent incidents resulting in out of school suspensions (injury and non-injury) reported? 5) Are there interaction effects for violence reduction program and each of the following variables: counselor to student ratio, number of lessons, and method of administration? All 231 middle schools in the State were surveyed to obtain information regarding type of prevention programs being offered and how these programs are administered. The return of 129 surveys resulted in a data set of 122 schools participating once incomplete surveys were eliminated. State Department of Education data from the Discipline Incident System provided the dependent variable data on school suspensions (injury and non-injury) for a three year period from 2008-2011. The only significant finding related to schools that had a counselor to student ratio of less than 1:500. These schools reported significantly fewer out-of-school suspensions (injury and non-injury) than those schools with a counselor to student ratio of more than 1:500. The findings from this study will provide middle schools with data to improve violence prevention programming.

While current psychological theory and research suggest conceptual associations between bullying and behavioral disorders, there is a gap in the literature examining such relationships. Although contemporary theories of aggression describe emotional, social, and cognitive risk factors that are common both, associations between bully-victim patterns and ODD have not been studied to date. This exploratory study addressed this gap by surveying 27 teachers to assess their reports of aggressive behaviors and socioemotional patterns of 58 male middle school students who were identified through school investigations as involved in bullying incidents. Between-group differences for students classified as bullies, victims, or bully-victims were examined for symptoms of behavioral disorders (including ODD) and types of aggression (proactive, reactive). Measures included the Bully Behavior questionnaire, SNAP-IV, and Teacher Rating Scale. Kruskal-Wallis analyses of between-group differences indicated that, in general, bullies and bully-victims scored higher than victims on measures of behavioral symptoms and aggression but did not differ from each other on any behavioral disorders or types of aggression. Findings may reflect difficulties with measurement instruments sensitive enough to identify differences between bully and bully-victim behaviors, and with limitations to teachers' observations of students' interpersonal behaviors. Further, current school investigations do not adequately recognize bully-victim patterns. However, this study's attention to possible unique risks of behavioral disorders in bully-victim behavior patterns can inform schools, families, and communities to consider these risk factors and in their efforts to offer more effective approaches for prevention and intervention.

Relational aggression (RA) is a social phenomenon that can severely impact organizational profitability and employee productivity. A gap in the literature exists concerning appropriate interventions to manage RA. The purpose of this study was to explore successful interventions that have been used to manage RA. The theoretical framework was informed by psychological contract theory. Data were collected via semistructured face-to-face interviews with 12 victims, and then analyzed using data management, reading and memorization, description, classification, interpretation, and representation. NVivo software was used to organize the data in this study. The research consisted of 3 subquestions addressing the role of written policies in interventions, common practices and reactions of management, and victims' requests for attention to grievance reports. Five key themes emerged. The first and second pertain to the proactive and reactive role of written policies. The third and fourth focus on management's negative and positive reactions in response to grievance reports. The fifth identifies victims' expectations for their grievance reports. Commonly found interventions include impartially listening to both sides, investigation, restoration of damages, social justice, and identifying root causes for RA in the workplace. Implications for positive social change include enhanced employee well-being and performance and increased organizational effectiveness. Results may lead to positive changes by providing useful information that can be implemented by organizations to prevent and address RA, which can improve employee well-being.

Over time and with both the increasing ubiquitousness of the Internet and children's technological knowledge at young ages, cyberbullying has grown more widespread and acts of bullying have become more intense. However, little is known about the effectiveness of different antibullying programs for decreasing cyberbullying behaviors. This study addressed that gap in the literature by exploring one elementary school's use of the Bully Busters program for combating cyberbullying. The decision-making model was used as the conceptual framework for this qualitative interview study. Participants were 3 principals from 3 schools using the program. Data were gathered from the participants via interviews and classroom observations. NVivo software was used to organize the data analysis processes through open coding to identify themes and patterns. Principals indicated the Bully Busters program was effective for preventing bullying and believed it would be effective for combating cyberbullying; they also demonstrated clear plans for implementing the program more widely to combat cyberbullying. As noted during observations, the principals effectively implemented the Bully Busters program. Results of this study may contribute to positive social change by providing school principals with insight into how the Bully Busters program may be implemented to deter cyberbullying in their schools. Decreased rates of cyberbullying in schools may result in improved school experiences for all children.

<p>Everyday thousands of children and teenagers live through the hell of bullying. This theoretical research essay describes analyses and gives a literature overview of the phenomenon of bullying from eight different ideal-typical aspects based on Max Weber’s concept of Ideal types as a tool to make text analysis. The essay also investigates and compares three studies with focus on what methodological tools the researchers have employed to come to their conclusions. With the results from this investigation the research essay discusses possible explanations to why results, conclusions and understanding on the self-concept and self-esteem of perpetrators of bullying are so contradictory between researchers. Findings suggest that differences in gender in the sample, sample-size and age-group variations could be possible explanations to why results differ between studies. The essay discusses bullying from a power theory perspective and presents thoughts on how such a perspective could be employed in future research. It also suggests more research in the sociological discipline and investigations on a contextual and organisational level considering that the present study has shown that the academic field of bullying have not been researched to a great extent from this perspective.</p>

<p>The objective of this study was trying to understand bullying focusing on the bully. The questions at issue were: What can contribute in the making of a bully? What are the benefits and losses in bullying? What are the former bullies’ thoughts on bullying, now in comparison to in their youth. This was investigated with a qualitative approach from a former bullys perspective, hence three former bullies were interviewed. The result was presented in themes and was then analysed from a social psychological and social constructionist perspective. In the discussion the result was also compared to the previous research.</p><p>Results showed that all interviewed former bullies claim to have had a secure childhood. They all moved and transferred to another school, after which the bullying began or escalated. The interviewees or their friends started using tobacco, alcohol and drugs at an early age. They were deviant in several ways and the bullying was a part of their behaviour. The interviewees had a central position in their groups of friends. The interviewees testified that they had been aggressive and had a bad temper.</p><p>The interviewees used the bullying partly to conceal their insecurity. Often the bullying concerned status and struggle for social position. The interviewees did not feel remorse at the time and they did not see them self as bullies. Now they consider that what they did was wrong, but they do not feel guilt.</p>

Everyday thousands of children and teenagers live through the hell of bullying. This theoretical research essay describes analyses and gives a literature overview of the phenomenon of bullying from eight different ideal-typical aspects based on Max Weber’s concept of Ideal types as a tool to make text analysis. The essay also investigates and compares three studies with focus on what methodological tools the researchers have employed to come to their conclusions. With the results from this investigation the research essay discusses possible explanations to why results, conclusions and understanding on the self-concept and self-esteem of perpetrators of bullying are so contradictory between researchers. Findings suggest that differences in gender in the sample, sample-size and age-group variations could be possible explanations to why results differ between studies. The essay discusses bullying from a power theory perspective and presents thoughts on how such a perspective could be employed in future research. It also suggests more research in the sociological discipline and investigations on a contextual and organisational level considering that the present study has shown that the academic field of bullying have not been researched to a great extent from this perspective.

The objective of this study was trying to understand bullying focusing on the bully. The questions at issue were: What can contribute in the making of a bully? What are the benefits and losses in bullying? What are the former bullies’ thoughts on bullying, now in comparison to in their youth. This was investigated with a qualitative approach from a former bullys perspective, hence three former bullies were interviewed. The result was presented in themes and was then analysed from a social psychological and social constructionist perspective. In the discussion the result was also compared to the previous research. Results showed that all interviewed former bullies claim to have had a secure childhood. They all moved and transferred to another school, after which the bullying began or escalated. The interviewees or their friends started using tobacco, alcohol and drugs at an early age. They were deviant in several ways and the bullying was a part of their behaviour. The interviewees had a central position in their groups of friends. The interviewees testified that they had been aggressive and had a bad temper. The interviewees used the bullying partly to conceal their insecurity. Often the bullying concerned status and struggle for social position. The interviewees did not feel remorse at the time and they did not see them self as bullies. Now they consider that what they did was wrong, but they do not feel guilt.