The purpose of this study is to investigate mediation’s crime prevention effects. The question that has been answered is: which crime prevention effects mediation has had on young criminals who have participated in mediation programs? The investigation was made in relation to a comparable control group and included a reoffence analysis based on a multivariate analysis. This reoffence study mainly focuses on that the mediation prevents crime through the feelings of shame that the young perpetrator has due to the fact that the crime has been made clear and reinforced at the mediation meeting. The following hypothesis is addressed in this study: Mediation involves the trust between the young perpetrator and his/her parents and has a conflict-solving and crime-prevention effect. By committing a crime, the youth has broken the trust with his/her parents, who have condemned the action. The parents feel the shame from those around them, and because of this resume their position against the youth. The main conclusion is that the total population of youths who participated in mediation programs relapsed into crime to a lesser extent than the youths who did not participate in mediation. The risk for a relapse was twice as high for the youths who did not participate in mediation. A statistically significant relationship emerged between mediation and relapse with regard to party and person plaintiff status, but it is not possible to draw any conclusions whether mediation has a better or worse effect between plaintiff status. The significant effect of relapse for respective gender showed that girls relapsed to a lesser extent than boys. It was not possible to statistically determine whether the youths who were born abroad respective born i Sweden have relapsed to a greater extent. Regarding the age groups there was no statistically significant relationship as to whether youths relapsed to a greater or lesser extent depending on whether they were under or over fifteen years of age. Furthermore, it has not been possible to statistically determine whether group mediation has had a different outcome in relapse frequency as compared to individual mediation, and it has not been possible to distinguish whether compensation at mediation has had any effect. There emerged significant relationships between mediation and relapse for the crime categories ‘crime against life and health’, ‘crime against freedom and peace’, ‘burglary, robbery and other theft crimes’ and ‘vandalism’.

Purpose: Postnatal depression (PND) has significant negative outcomes for both mother and baby. The literature indicates that cognitive behavioural interventions can be effective and efficacious treatments, less is known about what mechanisms underpin change in such interventions. The present study aimed to explore severity of depression as a moderator and Behavioural Activation (BA) as a possible mediator of treatment outcome in an online BA intervention for PND. Methods: Follow-up of postnatal women participating in a feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of Netmums, an online BA treatment with telephone support. Results: There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that severity of depression acted as a moderator for treatment outcome. No mediation effects for BA were found. Rumination and avoidance did predict treatment outcome, but this did not differ between the treatment and control group. Post Hoc sudden gains analysis revealed that 48.90% of the treatment group sample experienced a sudden gain. Those who experienced a sudden gain had better post intervention outcomes. Conclusions: The findings have important implications for both theory and the design of future interventions. Future research should consider collecting weekly measures from both treatment and control groups.

The way in which students perceive their learningsituation is the starting point for a successful learning process in school, aswell as the starting point for individualized teaching. The study´s aim was todescribe the findings from a group of students at a secondary special schoolwho use a tablet as a tool in learning situations. The study is based onqualitative methods with focus group interviews and research underpinning thecollated data. The study connects students´ perceptions with the conceptsmediated artifacts, motivation and availability to clarify students´ experiencesin different situations. The results shows that the tablet is a flexible toolwhere the possibilities for personalization are great if there is knowledgeabout how, when and for what purpose it will be used. Students express bothinterest and a good understanding of the use of the tablet as a tool, but theyalso experience the obstacle of inaccessibility, depending on how much tabletuse the teacher allows during lessons. Research shows that students withintellectual disabilities feel stimulation from the use of the tablet as atool. This is useful in special educational contexts where the focus is onproviding students with the right conditions to acquire and develop skills.

A study on the relationship of mindfulness to empathy was conducted with undergraduate students at a large southwestern university. Previous studies suggest that mindfulness may be related to empathy, but are inconclusive due to measurement and methodological limitations. A mindfulness construct that includes axioms related to intention, attention, and attitude is suggested for researching empathy, along with statistical models that include mediation. A multifactored measure of mindfulness was hypothesized to predict perspective taking and empathic concern empathy components, which in turn would mediate the relationship of mindfulness facets to individual and interpersonal outcomes. Study results suggest a relationship of mindfulness to perspective taking, but not to empathic concern. Results from the mediation procedures were not supportive of the theorized role of empathy in relation to mindfulness on individual and interpersonal outcomes. Implications and limitations to the study design and theory are discussed. / text

In order to stay competitive in an economic landscape characterised by constant turmoil and change, organisations in the chemical industry are engaging in various adaptive strategies like mergers, acquisitions and diversification. Adaptation strategies may vary but they all have similar results in common, one of which is the exposure of employees to feelings of uncertainty and job insecurity. Identifying factors that enable employees to effectively deal with job insecurity is becoming an increasingly important topic for research. The primary objectives of this research were to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, general health and organisational citizenship behaviour of employees in a chemical industry, as well as to determine whether self-efficacy mediates the relationship between job insecurity and general health on the one hand and between job insecurity and organisational citizenship behaviour on the other hand. The research method consists of a literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data. An availability sample (N = 205) was taken from employees in a chemical industry. The Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale (OCB), General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale (GPSES) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The statistical analysis was carried out with the SPSS program. Principal component factor analysis confirmed a two factor structure for job insecurity consisting of affective job insecurity and cognitive job insecurity. Factor analysis resulted in three factors for general health, namely psychosomatic symptoms, severe depression and social dysfunction. The two factors of the OCB were confIrmed and were labeled altruism and compliance. The unidimensional structure of the GPSES could also be confirmed and was labeled self-efficacy. All scales indicated acceptable reliability with Cronbach alpha coefficients varying from 0,70 to 0,89. Spearman product-moment correlations indicated a statistically positive correlation (practically significant, medium effect) between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity. Results further indicated that an increase in psychosomatic symptoms will lead to an increase in severe depression and social dysfunction, while an increase in severe depression will be associated with an increase in social dysfunction. It was found that when altruism increased, self-efficacy will also increase. The hypothesised mediating effect of self-efficacy was only partially demonstrated for the relationship between affective job insecurity and general health, as demonstrated by severe depression. Self-efficacy was further shown to mediate the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and altruism. The relationship between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity as dependent variables and compliance as an independent variable were partially mediated by self-efficacy. MANOVA analysis indicated that female employees experienced higher levels of cognitive job insecurity than male employees. White employees and employees with a degree exhibited more organisational citizenship behaviour, as demonstrated by compliance. Results further indicated that African employees and employees with a qualification of up to Grade 11 experienced higher levels of severe depression. Recommendations for future research were made, as well as recommendations to the participating organisation. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

This research examines faith-based mediators and their usage of mediation strategies, in relation to durability of peace agreements and it is guided by the following research question; Why do some faith-based mediators succeed to aid the creation of durable peace, while others do not? In order to find an answer to this question a hypothesis, suggesting that faith-based mediators applying the fostering, rather than the forcing, strategy will be more successful, is tested. This hypothesis mirrors the causal logic, suggesting that faith-based mediators have the potential to contribute to the creation of durable peace agreements, through the usage of facilitative and formulative techniques. The methodological design makes use of tools provided by Mills Method of Difference and Structured Focused Comparison. These tools aid the analysis of faith-based mediation in Uganda and Sierra Leone. The findings indicate that the application of the fostering strategy has a positive effect in relation to the process of creating durable peace agreements. However, this positive effect comes with one condition, the faith-based mediators have to be influential in relation to the peace process.

Significance of family mediation in the resolution of legal conflicts in a family The purpose of my thesis is to analyse the issue of family mediation. Family mediation which is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) could be defined as a structured process in which family members agree to appoint a neutral third party (the mediator) who assists them to find a mutually satisfactory solution to their problem based on their own decisions. The mediator must be impartial, their role is to encourage communication between the parties but has no authority to make any substantial suggestions or decisions with regard to the parties' issues. The mediation process is voluntary and confidential. One of the reasons why I chose this topic is my belief that family mediation can be in many cases a more suitable way to solve family conflicts than litigation. In many foreign countries (especially western European countries, the USA and Canada) mediation has a long history and is used frequently to solve conflicts that relate to separation, divorce, custody, financial questions in family etc. In the Czech Republic, however, family mediation has not been developed very well and I find this situation unfavorable. Recently there has been lots of discussion concerning the draft law on mediation. It could bring...

Background: Previous research has demonstrated that chronic stress negatively impacts cognition and overall health. Perseverative cognitions such as worry can hold the physiological response of a stressor in the body (Brosschot, Gerin, & Thayer, 2006). The current study consists of two components: 1) a conceptual replication examining whether worry mediates the effect of stress on somatic health and stress and 2) extension of the model with cognition as the outcome. Methods: This study used data from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States data collection: Project 1 (cross-sectional), Project 2 (daily diary), and Project 3 (cognition). Doing so approximated the time-series requirement of a mediation model and enabled access to the variables of interest. Mediation models were run via PROCESS software with covariates adjusted for at each path. Results: Controlling for age, gender, education, household income, and chronic health conditions, the mediation models revealed mediation of the effect of stress severity on somatic health by worry frequency, duration, and self-identification. Conclusions: Worry may be the process through which the physiological response to stress is prolonged thereby increasing the prevalence of effects on somatic health and cognition. By understanding the nuances of how stress impacts somatic health and cognition, prevention and intervention strategies can be implemented to reduce potential long-term outcomes. / Graduate

Introduction: Renewed efforts for controlling criminality in Sweden are demanded by the Swedish Government. Restorative justice conferences (RJC), in Sweden known as mediation, can be described as a meeting mediated by a trained facilitator in which the offender and the victim of a crime meets, sometimes together with their friends and family. RJC aims to promote the offender to take responsibility for his or her actions and repair the damage the victim has suffered. Research on RJC shows promising results in regard of reduced recidivism and increased victim benefits. No Swedish publication studying public opinion on RJC has been found. The theoretical framework of reintegrative shaming stated that a community that offer reintegration is essential for successful crime prevention. Aim: To measure the level of RJC support held by a Swedish community sample in regard of different offender and offence characteristics. Method: Participants were recruited at a Swedish authority located in nine different cities (n = 192) and surveyed using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was based on two scales measuring benefits of restorative justice and support for participation in restorative justice derived from a previous study. Results: The respondents had an overall positive attitude toward RJC. No respondent demographic was associated with the total level of restorative justice support although differences were found when using age and gender as independent variables. Respondents were more positive of RJC for juvenile offenders and non-violent crime. Discussion: A discussion regarding the public support for RJC in relation to offender recidivism is provided established on reintegrative shaming and previous empirical evidence. Concluding arguments for RJC to be extended in a wider context in the Swedish penalty system are presented. / <p>2016-06-01</p>

The aim of this investigation has been to examine four students, in a second grade class in Stockholm, understanding of the addition algorithm. A small field study has been carried out including both interviews and classroom studies. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and more specifically the concepts of mediation and cultural tools have been applied. Vygotsky asserts that our contact with the world is mediated by cultural tools. The addition algorithm is in this thesis seen as a cultural tool that the students are to appropriate. The results show a variation of the student’s understanding of the addition algorithm. Most importantly it shows that it is possible for students to “say more than they know” with the use of the algorithm. It is difficult to see how much a student really understand of a mathematical concept and easier to see if they do not understand it or are using it in an inappropriate way. Therefore it is necessary for teachers to form a dialogue with the students and ask them why they do as they do while using different mathematical concepts, such as addition algorithms, to acquire a perception of their mathematical understanding.