archives@tulane.edu / 1 / Melina Calmon Silva

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (School of Criminology) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

People who go missing are often perceived to have done so voluntarily, and yet, many missing persons in Canada are Aboriginal, visible minorities, homeless, and are fleeing from violence, abuse, and neglect. Integrating the concept of social exclusion and an intersectional perspective with a sample of 724 missing persons cases drawn from one Canadian police service, this dissertation examines the systemic issues underlying peoples’ disappearances. This dissertation also explores the role of social and economic disadvantage in the risk of a long term disappearance. A combination of univariate (descriptions), bivariate (cross-tabulations), and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses identify correlates and causes of going missing and correlates and causes of long term disappearances. The concept of social exclusion explains how structural processes prevent particular groups and individuals from gaining access to valued social relationships and economic opportunities in a particular society, resulting in considerable hardship and disadvantage. This dissertation argues that people who are marginalized and excluded have few resources to rely on to cope with stress and strain and may resort to going missing if confronted with adversity. Groups who are overrepresented among missing persons compared to the general population are identified by cross-tabulations and chi-square tests. Multivariate analysis (partial tables and logistic regression) is used to control for possible sources of spuriousness, in order to have more confidence in imputing causal relationships between membership in disadvantaged groups and going missing. Moreover, if disadvantaged groups go missing, they further sever ties with families, the labour market, and other mainstream institutions. As a result of extreme disadvantage, they may find it difficult to (re)connect with conventional social relationships and mainstream society. For example, youth who are escaping violence and abuse at home often end up on the streets and sever ties with schools, families, and other conventional support networks and become engaged in street culture. As a result of extreme disadvantage these young people are at risk of a long term disappearance. In other words, social exclusion is expected to be a risk and causal factor in long term disappearances. Groups who are overrepresented among long term disappearances compared to short term disappearances are identified by cross-tabulations and chi-square tests. Logistic regression analysis is used to draw conclusions about causal factors in long term disappearances. This research finds that excluded groups such as disadvantaged youth, Aboriginal people, women and other visible minorities, victims of violence, and youth in care are at disproportionate risk of going missing. Consistent with an intersectional perspective, this dissertation shows that certain groups who are multiply marginalized such as Aboriginal women and young women face an especially high risk of going missing. Aboriginal identity, labour force status, and homelessness are also implicated as causal factors in peoples’ disappearances. Moreover, this research finds that social exclusion is a risk and causal factor in long term disappearances as Aboriginal people, homeless people, minorities and other excluded groups face a high risk of a long term disappearance. Linking missing persons with the concept of social exclusion highlights the role of structural issues in peoples’ disappearances and refutes the common misperception that going missing is a choice. In terms of policy, the findings from this research indicate that prevention and intervention depend on targeting poverty, discrimination, gender inequality, violence, and other structural issues associated with social exclusion.

People who go missing are often perceived to have done so voluntarily, and yet, many missing persons in Canada are Aboriginal, visible minorities, homeless, and are fleeing from violence, abuse, and neglect. Integrating the concept of social exclusion and an intersectional perspective with a sample of 724 missing persons cases drawn from one Canadian police service, this dissertation examines the systemic issues underlying peoples’ disappearances. This dissertation also explores the role of social and economic disadvantage in the risk of a long term disappearance. A combination of univariate (descriptions), bivariate (cross-tabulations), and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses identify correlates and causes of going missing and correlates and causes of long term disappearances. The concept of social exclusion explains how structural processes prevent particular groups and individuals from gaining access to valued social relationships and economic opportunities in a particular society, resulting in considerable hardship and disadvantage. This dissertation argues that people who are marginalized and excluded have few resources to rely on to cope with stress and strain and may resort to going missing if confronted with adversity. Groups who are overrepresented among missing persons compared to the general population are identified by cross-tabulations and chi-square tests. Multivariate analysis (partial tables and logistic regression) is used to control for possible sources of spuriousness, in order to have more confidence in imputing causal relationships between membership in disadvantaged groups and going missing. Moreover, if disadvantaged groups go missing, they further sever ties with families, the labour market, and other mainstream institutions. As a result of extreme disadvantage, they may find it difficult to (re)connect with conventional social relationships and mainstream society. For example, youth who are escaping violence and abuse at home often end up on the streets and sever ties with schools, families, and other conventional support networks and become engaged in street culture. As a result of extreme disadvantage these young people are at risk of a long term disappearance. In other words, social exclusion is expected to be a risk and causal factor in long term disappearances. Groups who are overrepresented among long term disappearances compared to short term disappearances are identified by cross-tabulations and chi-square tests. Logistic regression analysis is used to draw conclusions about causal factors in long term disappearances. This research finds that excluded groups such as disadvantaged youth, Aboriginal people, women and other visible minorities, victims of violence, and youth in care are at disproportionate risk of going missing. Consistent with an intersectional perspective, this dissertation shows that certain groups who are multiply marginalized such as Aboriginal women and young women face an especially high risk of going missing. Aboriginal identity, labour force status, and homelessness are also implicated as causal factors in peoples’ disappearances. Moreover, this research finds that social exclusion is a risk and causal factor in long term disappearances as Aboriginal people, homeless people, minorities and other excluded groups face a high risk of a long term disappearance. Linking missing persons with the concept of social exclusion highlights the role of structural issues in peoples’ disappearances and refutes the common misperception that going missing is a choice. In terms of policy, the findings from this research indicate that prevention and intervention depend on targeting poverty, discrimination, gender inequality, violence, and other structural issues associated with social exclusion.

What Spins Away is a novel about a man named Caleb who, in the process, of searching for a brother who has been missing for ten years, discovers that his inability to commit to a job or his primary relationships is both the result of his history with that older missing brother, and his own misconceptions about the meaning of that history. On a formal level, the novel explores the ability of traditional narrative structures to carry postmodern themes. The theme, in this case, is the struggle for a stable identity when there is no stable community against which or in relationship to an identity might be defined.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English, Department of English and Film Studies." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on August 24, 2009).

Thesis Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

No description available.

Since the bizarre disappearance of his wife, mountaineer Abbot Boone's life has spiraled into a pit of alcoholism and alienation. But then a wealthy and desperate widow hires Boone for an impossible task: to recover her husband's dead body from the peaks of Mount Everest. With nothing to lose and debts mounting, Boone enlists a team of exiles and misfits to attempt the climb. But if Boone is to conquer the mountain, he will first have to survive the pressure cooker of Everest Base Camp, brutal subzero temperatures, and ultimately confront the mystery of his own grief

A gravidade do tema do desaparecimento de crianças e de adolescentes exige que o mesmo seja trabalhado de forma multidisciplinar uma vez que o índice anual de ocorrências no Brasil é de 40.000 casos/ano e 9000 casos no Estado de São Paulo. É imprescindível a atenção governamental para políticas públicas, a atenção acadêmica para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas e tecnologia, e, atenção clínica para o desenvolvimento de modelos de atendimento psicológico às famílias e aos desaparecidos quando encontrados. O objetivo geral desse trabalho foi descrever a criação de uma metodologia de prática psicológica oferecida aos familiares de crianças e de adolescentes desaparecidos e aos desaparecidos posteriormente encontrados que é executada em uma delegacia de polícia especializada na investigação de pessoas desaparecidas. Tal prática foi desenvolvida dentro de um projeto multidisciplinar que agrega diferentes metodologias para busca e identificação de desaparecidos menores de 18 anos. Na pesquisa foram descritas as etapas de planejamento desse projeto enfatizando a inserção e os efeitos da psicologia e da psicanálise em seu escopo multidisciplinar. O modelo clínico incluiu pelo menos 04 (quatro) entrevistas (uma semi-aberta e três abertas) e se utilizou o dispositivo analítico para levantar hipóteses sobre as prováveis razões para a ocorrência dos desaparecimentos configurando, portanto, um exemplo de psicanálise aplicada. Nas entrevistas semi-abertas foram utilizados questionários cujas respostas foram armazenadas em Banco de Dados. Os entrevistados assinaram Termo de Consentimento Pós-esclarecido. Os casos foram supervisionados e encaminhados para a rede psicossocial da cidade de São Paulo. A partir do referencial psicanalítico de orientação lacaniana foi realizada uma análise clínico-qualitativa de 16 casos-piloto atendidos pela pesquisadora e alguns casos por ela supervisionados. O mesmo referencial foi utilizado na discussão das questões multidisciplinares e dos efeitos da prática clínica no ambiente da delegacia. Os desaparecimentos analisados foram fugas de casa ocorridas principalmente a partir da entrada da puberdade e de forma repetida. Nas famílias foi observado principalmente, histórico de violência doméstica, de uso de drogas ilícitas, de alcoolismo, de prática de atos infracionais e de infrações penais. Os significantes mais utilizados pelos familiares para representar o desaparecido foram filho incômodo ou filho problema. A fuga de casa foi considerada um sintoma do desaparecido, sinalizando modos de gozo nas repetições. Foi possível observar aspectos da singularidade dos desaparecidos encontrados e entrevistados, pois alguns se identificaram com o lugar simbólico destinado pelo grupo familiar e utilizaram as fugas para manter essa posição. Outros lançaram mão da fuga justamente para ir contra o desejo dos pais e tentar encontrar um caminho pessoal. E, em alguns casos, a fuga de casa configurou uma saída para a sobrevivência psíquica da criança ou do adolescente. A clínica executada em uma delegacia marcou a diferença entre a escuta policial, de cunho investigatório, e a escuta analítica voltada ao particular de cada caso e às suas implicações (ou não) com o desaparecimento, possibilitando a abertura de um novo campo de trabalho ao psicólogo / The seriousness of the issue of missing children and adolescents requires an interdisciplinary approach to intervention. The need for such broad-based action is necessitated by the large number of children that go missing each year, i.e., approximately 40,000 cases per year in Brazil and an annual average of at least 9,000 cases in the state of Sao Paulo. The sheer number of cases makes obvious the need for increased public policy attention as well as careful research by the academic community into the causes and prevention of this phenomenon. More particularly, in depth psychological attention must be given to understanding the complex psychological factors that contribute to the problem. The aim of this study was to describe the creation of a methodology of psychological practice offered to families of missing and found children. The psychological practice described herein operated out of a police station specializing in the investigation of missing persons of all ages. This practice was developed within a multidisciplinary project that combines different methods to search for and identify missing children under the age of 18 years. This practice was developed within a multidisciplinary project that combines different methods to search for and identify missing children and youth. In the research phase of this effort, we described the projects planning stages with emphasis on the integration and the effects of psychology and psychoanalysis in its multidisciplinary scope. The clinical model of intervention included at least four interviews (a half-open and three open) and the analytical device used to raise hypotheses about the probable reasons into the occurrence and reoccurrence of missing and disappeared children. The approach used was that of applied psychoanalysis. Using semi-open questionnaires we sought answers related to questions that made up part of our comprehensive database relating to disappearances. All respondents in the project signed a written Consent Form. The cases were supervised and directed to the psychosocial network in São Paulo. From the psychoanalysis of the Lacanian orientation, a clinical-qualitative analysis of 16 cases treated by the researcher was undertaken. The same reference was used in the discussion of disciplinary issues as well as with respect to the effects of clinical practice in the environment of the police station. Repeated running away from home was the most common factor contributing to the disappearance of pre- and post-pubescent youth. The disappearances, though, also were associated with family histories of domestic violence, use of illicit drugs, alcoholism, the practice of illegal acts, and criminal offenses. The signifier most used by adult caregivers in describing their runaway child or teenager, however, was \"troublesome or problematic. Leaving home was considered a symptom of child disappearance and, often, was associated with considerable pleasure for the child. The analysis also made it possible to observe aspects of the uniqueness of the disappeared and many of these children identified themselves with the symbolic place determined by their family group. Others leaving home wanted simply to go against the wishes of parents and to try to find a personal path. And in some cases, leaving home set up a way out of psychic survival of the child or adolescent, especially in cases of domestic violence. The use of a police station as setting for clinical intervention with children and youth marked the difference between what the policeman can listen to about the cases and what the psychologist can listen to. The latters ability to use analytical listening focused on the particular features of each case and the implications (or not) with the disappearances, allowing the opening of a new field of work psychologist