abstract: The use of bias indicators in psychological measurement has been contentious, with some researchers questioning whether they actually suppress or moderate the ability of substantive psychological indictors to discriminate (McGrath, Mitchell, Kim, & Hough, 2010). Bias indicators on the MMPI-2-RF (F-r, Fs, FBS-r, K-r, and L-r) were tested for suppression or moderation of the ability of the RC1 and NUC scales to discriminate between Epileptic Seizures (ES) and Non-epileptic Seizures (NES, a conversion disorder that is often misdiagnosed as ES). RC1 and NUC had previously been found to be the best scales on the MMPI-2-RF to differentiate between ES and NES, with optimal cut scores occurring at a cut score of 65 for RC1 (classification rate of 68%) and 85 for NUC (classification rate of 64%; Locke et al., 2010). The MMPI-2-RF was completed by 429 inpatients on the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) at the Scottsdale Mayo Clinic Hospital, all of whom had confirmed diagnoses of ES or NES. Moderated logistic regression was used to test for moderation and logistic regression was used to test for suppression. Classification rates of RC1 and NUC were calculated at different bias level indicators to evaluate clinical utility for diagnosticians. No moderation was found. Suppression was found for F-r, Fs, K-r, and L-r with RC1, and for all variables with NUC. For F-r and Fs, the optimal RC1 and NUC cut scores increased at higher levels of bias, but tended to decrease at higher levels of K-r, L-r, and FBS-r. K-r provided the greatest suppression for RC1, as well as the greatest increases in classification rates at optimal cut scores, given different levels of bias. It was concluded that, consistent with expectations, taking account of bias indicator suppression on the MMPI-2-RF can improve discrimination of ES and NES. At higher levels of negative impression management, higher cut scores on substantive scales are needed to attain optimal discrimination, whereas at higher levels of positive impression management and FBS-r, lower cut scores are needed. Using these new cut scores resulted in modest improvements in accuracy in discrimination. These findings are consistent with prior research in showing the efficacy of bias indicators, and extend the findings to a psycho-medical context. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2013

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This thesis considers how work has changed in post-industrial society. It shows that while insecure or stressful work can be reliably linked with poor health, individual outcomes depend upon a range of micro- and macro-level moderators. Bad jobs are invariably harmful, but context matters. It begins by charting the shift in advanced economic nations from industry and agriculture to service sector and knowledge-based employment. Most accounts of post-industrialisation share common flaws. Namely, the tendency for technological determinism; the depiction of discontinuous, all-encompassing social transformation; and the dislocation from individual experience. Such failings, however, do not negate the micro-level impact of these changes. This thesis focuses on two: job insecurity and work intensity. Recent decades have witnessed a destandardisation of employment relations and an intensification of working conditions. These changes have important consequences for well-being, whether or not they collectively constitute a new form of society. The methodological theme is one of moderation. Successive analytical chapters show how the consequences of insecure or stressful work depends upon (a) family arrangements, (b) economic climate, (c) labour market policies, (d) job resources and (e) national characteristics such as culture or trade union density. The analyses combine European survey data and contextual information using a range of quantitative methods, including multilevel modelling, structural equation modelling and latent class analysis. While the empirical chapters contribute to their respective literatures, they also feed into broader arguments regarding the synthesis of micro- and macro-level perspectives. Work invariably impacts upon health, but a simultaneity of moderating influences results in a diversity of outcomes. These findings underline the contextual sensitivity of work-related policy.

Light water reactors (LWRs) are the world’s dominant nuclear reactor system. Uranium (U)-fuelled LWRs produce long-lived transuranic (TRU) isotopes. TRUs can be recycled in LWRs or fast reactors. The thermal neutron spectrum in LWRs is less suitable for burning TRUs as this causes a build-up of TRU isotopes with low fission probability. This increases the fissile feed requirements, which tends to result in a positive void coefficient (VC) and hence the reactor is unsafe to operate. Use of reduced-moderation LWRs can improve TRU transmutation performance, but the VC is still severely limiting for these designs. Reduced-moderation pressurized water reactors (RMPWRs) and boiling water reactors (RBWRs) are considered in this study. Using thorium (Th) instead of U as the fertile fuel component can greatly improve the VC. However, Th-based transmutation is a much less developed technology than U-based transmutation. In this thesis, the feasibility and fuel cycle performance of full TRU recycle in Th-fuelled RMPWRs and RBWRs are evaluated. Neutronic performance is greatly improved by spatial separation of TRU and 233-6U, primarily implemented here using heterogeneous RMPWR and RBWR assembly designs. In a RMPWR, the water to fuel ratio must be reduced to around 50% of the normal value to allow full actinide recycle. If implemented by retrofitting an existing PWR, steady-state thermal-hydraulic constraints can still be satisfied. However, in a large break loss-of-coolant accident, the emergency core cooling system may not be able to provide water to the core quickly enough to prevent fuel cladding failure. A discharge burn-up of ~40 GWd/t is possible in RMPWRs. Reactivity control is a challenge due to the reduced worth of neutron absorbers in the hard neutron spectrum, and their detrimental effect on the VC, especially when diluted, as for soluble boron. Control rods are instead used to control the core. It appears possible to achieve adequate power peaking, shutdown margin and rod-ejection accident response. In RBWRs, it appears neutronically feasible to achieve very high burn-ups (~120 GWd/t) but the maximum achievable incineration rate is less than in RMPWRs. The reprocessing and fuel fabrication requirements of RBWRs are less than RMPWRs but more than fast reactors. A two-stage TRU burning cycle, where the first stage is Th-Pu MOX in a conventional PWR feeding a second stage continuous burn in a RBWR, is technically reasonable. It is possible to limit the core area to that of an ABWR with acceptable thermal-hydraulic performance. In this case, it appears that RBWRs are of similar cost to inert matrix incineration in LWRs, and lower cost than RMPWRs and Th- and U-based fast reactor recycle schemes.

Reports from the IPCC have been consistent in their findings: climate change is happening and human activity is the cause. The temperature of the earth’s climate has been steadily rising since the industrial revolution, with profoundly negative consequences for the natural environment. Britain is amongst the top 10 global contributors towards climate change, producing more CO2 per capita than China, and yet little is known about the relationship the British public have with the natural environment. Drawing upon DEFRA’s 2009 Survey of Public Attitudes and Behaviours Towards the Environment, a nationally representative sample of the UK, this study aims to (1) explore environmental attitudes in the DEFRA sample; (2) identify the types of environmental concern that exist in the UK and; (3) examine how environmental concern is associated with pro-environmental behaviours. The overall goal is to develop a better understanding this attitude-behaviour relationship. The thesis has 3 main findings. First, environmental concern is formed of three environmental attitudes: (a) a cognitive appraisal of plant and animal welfare (ecocentric attitude); (b) welfare of the human race (human-centric attitude); and (c) a prioritisation of the self, alongside dismissal of environmental problems (denial).Second, members of the British public can be assigned to one of four groups based on their environmental concern: Pro-environment, Neutral, Disengaged and Paradoxical (the latter 2 groups are apathetic towards environmental issues though in different ways).Third, when examining behaviour variation across these environmental concern groups, it was found, unsurprisingly, that membership of the pro- environmental group is strongly predictive of pro-environmental behaviour. What was surprising was that pro-environmental concern predicts a variety of behaviours, both easy and challenging (i.e. easy behaviour such as recycling household waste as well more challenging behaviour such as an increase use of public transportation over driving), whereas previous studies have typically found such behaviours to be unaffected by attitudes. Membership of the Neutral group also predicts pro-environmental behaviours, although this relationship is weaker and exists for fewer measures of behaviour. Disengaged and Paradoxical forms of concern are not significant predictors of behaviour. Upon examining the effect of socio-economic status (SES) on group membership and this attitude-behaviour relationship, it was found that SES does not moderate the attitude-behaviour relationship, but it does influence group membership. Respondents with higher SES were more likely to belong to neutral or pro-environment groups. After reviewing these findings, it is concluded that environmental attitudes do clearly predict behaviour, but a large portion of the UK population do not possess environmental attitudes strong enough to do so (the Disengaged and Paradoxical groups amount to 36% of the population). Future studies should focus on these apathetic groups in an attempt to understand them, determine effective methods of engagement and identify factors that increase the probability of members transitioning out of these groups.

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ACEs are traumatic life events occurring during childhood that can have negative effects. Common mental disorders that are diagnosed in childhood are attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavior disorders, anxiety and depression. The associations between ACEs and such problems in children have not been significantly examined. There are protective factors that can help reduce the effects of exposure to ACEs that have not been fully explored. The purpose of this research study was to examine: 1) the prevalence of mental health outcomes in children; 2) the associations between ACEs, resilience and mental health outcomes; and 3) the role of resiliency as a moderating variable between ACEs and mental health outcomes. A secondary data analysis utilizing data from the 2018 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) was used to examine the proposed aims. The study population consisted of children between the ages of 3 and 17. Chi-square analyses were utilized, and logistic regression models were constructed. Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated. 8.6%, 6.9%, 8.0% and 3.7% currently had ADHD, behavioral disorders, anxiety and depression. The prevalence of each disorder was higher for older age, Whites, public insurance, single parent homes or homes without parents, caregivers with mental health problems and non-users of medical home. Children exposed to 4 or more ACEs had greater odds of ADHD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]= 2.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-2.72), behavioral disorders (aOR: 2.47; CI: 1.81-3.37), anxiety (aOR: 2.66; CI: 2.00-3.53) and the strongest relationship was seen with depression (aOR: 4.53; CI: 3.13-6.54). Individual resilience, family resilience and community resilience were associated with decreased odds of mental health outcomes and the strongest relationship was seen with individual resilience. There were significant interactions between exposure to ACEs and child resilience for ADHD (aOR: 0.14; CI: 0.08-0.23), current behavioral disorders (aOR: 0.10; CI: 0.06-0.16), anxiety and (aOR: 0.21; CI: 0.13-0.35) depression (aOR: 0.24; CI: 0.13-0.43) as well as significant interactions between ACE exposure and community resilience for depression (aOR: 0.25; CI: 0.10-0.61). The findings of this research have implications for the improvement of mental health diagnosis, promotion of resilient measures and future research.

Many studies have focused on the societal implication of the emergence of Web 2.0. However, only a few researches have focused on the interrelationship of social media and surveillance. This thesis specifically examines the role of Facebook in community engagement on neighborhood surveillance. using a locality in Malmö municipal, Kirseberg area,  the study aimed to determine the role of the community Facebook group, its affordances, and contributions towards community engagement for neighborhood watch. Through interviews of stakeholders, observations of posts on the Kirseberg Facebook group, and a community-based participatory workshop of the residents in Kirseberg, Malmö, the study engaged 14 residents and stakeholders using data visualization as prototype artifacts to engage participants and elicit responses for data gathering. The data gathered was analysed based on thematic recognition of the study's objectives. The results indicated that many residents interact with features and tools on the Facebook group to initiate the affordances capabilities of Facebook on information relating to neighborhood surveillance.  It also noted that Facebook is a precursor and initial engagement point towards collective community action on neighborhood watch.  The thesis concludes that Facebook, as a part of the Web 2.0 platform, with strict moderation, has the inherent tools that could create affordances in different levels of interactions for the specific purpose of information, communication, engagements, and conversations towards community mobilization, building, and engagement for neighborhood watch and surveillance. The study, however, suggested further research of this phenomenon with more extensive coverage of areas in Malmö and expansion of stakeholders with an expansive methodology.

Social capital is an important predictor of socioeconomic attainment, defined here as household income, but it is less clear how this relationship may vary by socioeconomic status (SES). Coleman's (1988) theory of social capital suggests that context is likely to influence exchanges of capital. Indeed, theory and research suggest that SES may either intensify or compensate for social capital in its relation to socioeconomic attainment. I seek to identify and understand these potential interactions using data from 101,163 participants of the European Social Survey (ESS). Results indicate that while social trust and both absolute and relative social involvement--two common measurements of social capital--predict socioeconomic attainment, the link with relative social involvement was stronger for individuals with lower SES, suggesting a compensation effect. Meanwhile, the link between absolute social involvement and socioeconomic attainment was stronger for those with higher SES, suggesting an intensification effect and highlighting that effects may vary across different measures of social capital. More generally, however, it is clear that SES is a meaningful factor in the value or use of at least some features of social capital.

The purpose of this thesis is to try to understand the moderation process of the Tunisian Islamic political party Ennahda between the years of 2011-2016. This case is studied within the context of the democratisation process that took place in Tunisia, in the five years after the Arab spring and the idea that political Islam might provide a path to democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. The theoretical framework chosen for understanding this process was in form of a theory about under which circumstances religious political parties politically moderate. The method used was a qualitative content analysis. The analysis was conducted by dividing the chapters into thematic topics that emerged out of the material with the framework then being applied to those themes. The research found that the theory provided theoretical understanding for why the Ennahda Movement became more moderate, especially when looking at factors regarding political entrepreneurship. However, other factors such as a dedication to democratic values, non-violence, and a willingness to change throughout its history, also proved important in the case of moderation within the Ennahda Movement.