Kränkande behandling är ett samhällsproblem som för unga ofta tar sin plats i skolan. Skolan ska vara en plats för kunskapsberikande och inte kränkande behandling. Skolor har ett ansvar att säkra elevernas rätt till en trygg skolgång, huvudmannen i kommunen har även ett ansvar att upprätta en plan för att förebygga och förhindra kränkande behandling. Denna kvalitativa studie jämför handlingsplaner mot kränkande behandling mellan gymnasieskolor som befinner sig i utsatta respektive icke utsatta områden. Syftet med jämförelsen är att se om det finns märkbara skillnader i hur skolor definierar och arbetar mot kränkande behandling i skolan baserat på deras geografiska läge. Vidare är syftet att se om det arbete som beskrivs i handlingsplanerna är tillräckligt i arbetet mot psykisk ohälsa. Metoden som används vid analysen är Norman Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys. Socialkonstruktivism och intersektionalitet används som teoretiskt ramverk i analysen av resultatet. Studien visar att det inte finns några skillnader som direkt kan härledas till skolornas geografiska läge. Studien fann dock smärre skillnader som eventuellt kan förstås utifrån det geografiska läget. Dessa skillnader fanns bland annat i skolornas beskrivning av kränkande behandling samt i deras arbete mot detta och ansvarsfördelningen bland personal och elever.

Ostracism is among vastly researched and discussed psychological phenomena that have been discussed in the workplace context vastly for three decades. As the severity of the issue, employees usually let the discrimination go unnoticed and therefore the cases are not reported. To understand the underlying factors that can result in its initiation, the study examines the factors that cause ostracism. The study explores the contextual environment and the factors that influence or stop the effects of ostracism in the working environment. Moreover, the study argues on the personal outcomes factors which can be the result of stressful working culture and additional workload. The study also explores how different working environment, such as employment opportunity and power distance have a role to play in this scenario. To test the study, the data was collected from the employees and supervisors of the departmental stores in Pakistan and Sweden. The number of respondents for the data was 480 (in total after data screening). As the study had multi structural model, therefore the data was testes with Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modelling to measure the effect of different variables on the respondents. The study reveals that the factors reveal the significant effect on the employees of service industries and it results in having negative effects on psychological and health factors of an employee. It also reveals that when these issues are not resolved, employees often intend to leave the organization voluntarily not to be ostracised. Furthermore, the study also discovered insignificant results within the context of employment opportunity due to the spread of the Corona Virus Pandemic (COVID-19). The employees could not be certain about the employment opportunity in the service industry. The study suggests that it is important for services firms especially departmental stores to develop a supportive environment for the employees and allow them to fulfil their need for belongingness by performing better at the workplace.

abstract: Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death in children under 18, with head trauma being the leading cause of death in children below 5. A large but unknown number of traumatic injuries are non-accidental, i.e. inflicted. The lack of sensitivity and specificity required to diagnose Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) from radiological studies results in putting the children at risk of re-injury and death. Modern Deep Learning techniques can be utilized to detect Abusive Head Trauma using Computer Tomography (CT) scans. Training models using these techniques are only a part of building AI-driven Computer-Aided Diagnostic systems. There are challenges in deploying the models to make them highly available and scalable. The thesis models the domain of Abusive Head Trauma using Deep Learning techniques and builds an AI-driven System at scale using best Software Engineering Practices. It has been done in collaboration with Phoenix Children Hospital (PCH). The thesis breaks down AHT into sub-domains of Medical Knowledge, Data Collection, Data Pre-processing, Image Generation, Image Classification, Building APIs, Containers and Kubernetes. Data Collection and Pre-processing were done at PCH with the help of trauma researchers and radiologists. Experiments are run using Deep Learning models such as DCGAN (for Image Generation), Pretrained 2D and custom 3D CNN classifiers for the classification tasks. The trained models are exposed as APIs using the Flask web framework, contained using Docker and deployed on a Kubernetes cluster. The results are analyzed based on the accuracy of the models, the feasibility of their implementation as APIs and load testing the Kubernetes cluster. They suggest the need for Data Annotation at the Slice level for CT scans and an increase in the Data Collection process. Load Testing reveals the auto-scalability feature of the cluster to serve a high number of requests. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Software Engineering 2020

This quantitative research is on the efficacy of Minnesota Statute 144.574 enacted in 2005 in response to the growing awareness of behavior leading to inflicted Traumatic Brain Injuries (iTBI) in infants and children. The model for this research is grounded in the Theory of Reasoned Action wherein the education of new parents which graphically explains the physiologic changes to the structural architecture of the brain post-trauma, paired with their signature on a social contract (SC), demonstrated a reduction in incidence. Because the enacted statute does not include the signing of a SC, nor does it require face-to-face education as in the model, Statute 144.574 cannot claim to be completely grounded in medical science. The result is that neither legislators nor the medical and public health community know whether the statute is effective in lowering incidence. This research was designed to explore the difference in the incidence pre-and post-enactment, in rural vs. urban communities, the proportion of incidence and ethnicity, and an ordinal shift in the distribution of severity. All births in Minnesota from 1998 through 2017 were included. Cases defined using International Classification of Disease were extracted from secondary data from the brain and spinal cord injury, hospital discharge, and vital statistics databases. A Z-test was employed to compare the incidence in a control cohort of infants and children born prior to enactment to the incidence of same in an interventional cohort born post-enactment. Results suggest the statute has not resulted in lowering incidence, have uncovered an unanticipated statistically significant increase in rural vs. urban incidence, yet point to a trend in favor of less severe iTBI. These results represent a positive social change which is grounded in the society's imperative and social justice of protecting children by informing public health officials, caregivers, and legislators of the need for meaningful reform and strengthening of programs leading to lowering the incidence of iTBI in children in Minnesota.

The domestic violence movement has had remarkable success illuminating the scope, prevalence and consequences of battering, but has been more limited in its ability to successfully intervene and prevent abuse of women by their intimate male partners. Surprisingly, there has been little research directed at understanding why intervention strategies with perpetrators are only minimally effective. Studies have focused on assessing the degree to which and for whom individual components such as arrest, prosecution and psycho-educational programs for abusive men are successful, but few explorations have attempted to describe limitations and challenges to the domestic violence intervention 'system as a whole'. Employing a systems approach, a process-oriented evaluation of the domestic violence intervention system in Portland, Oregon was conducted. Ten focus groups were facilitated with key stakeholders in the coordinated community response. Participants included police and probation officers, victim advocates, victim/survivors, batterer intervention program providers, and batterer intervention program participants. The focus group discussions were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory and emergent themes were identified. Based on stakeholder testimony, it appears as though seven interacting features may limit the effectiveness of domestic violence intervention strategies with abusive men: 1) attempting to simultaneously punish and rehabilitate perpetrators, 2) dominance of a "one size fits all" approach, 3) insufficient accountability within the system for abusive men, 4) rampant victim blaming, 5) barriers to effective collaboration, 6) confusion created by complex domestic violence dynamics, and 7) reactivity instead of activism and prevention. These and other findings are discussed in light of their capacity to illuminate fundamental tensions associated with relying so heavily on the criminal justice system to intervene in domestic violence (e.g., the contradictions that surface when attempting to protect and empower victims, the difficulty of balancing consistency with an individually tailored response when sanctioning perpetrators). Despite these and other challenges, complete dismissal of the criminal justice system's role in holding abusive men accountable seems unwise. Instead, it will be important for movement activists, practitioners, and researchers to critically reflect upon its limitations and work to redress and refine its use, while simultaneously developing new strategies that engage a wider range of community resources.

No description available.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) exhibit a strong influence on later functioning in adolescence and adulthood, including impacts on physical and mental health, as well as behavioral and risk-related outcomes. A dose-response effect is evident, in that as the number of ACEs increase, the likelihood of detrimental outcomes similarly rises. Important outcomes associated with increased ACEs include: physical health problems like cancer or heart disease, risky sexual behaviors, diagnosis of a trauma-related disorder, and criminality (Felitti et al., 1998; Espleta et al., 2018; Lew & Xian, 2019; Ramakrishnan et al. 2019; Van Niel et al., 2014). More recently, the exploration of the impact of ACEs has demonstrated differential accumulated risk in offender populations, with ACEs that are more prevalent and a more intensified dose-response relationship between ACEs and outcomes associated with sexual offending and other violent behaviors (Harlow, 1999; Levenson, Willis, & Prescott, 2014; Baglivio et al., 2014; Stinson, Quinn, & Levenson, 2016). One such population evidencing increased risk are youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors. These youth have experienced ACEs at higher rates than other typical youth in the community, or those involved in the justice system (Baglivio & Epps, 2016; Levenson, Willis, & Prescott, 2016), resulting in them being categorized as high-risk. Predictors like out-of-home placements have been linked to an earlier onset of aggression and sexually abusive behaviors (Hall, Stinson, & Moser, 2017). Conversely, ACEs and the youth’s own behavior are two important factors to consider when evaluating the timing and persistence of an out-of-home placement. The current study evaluates the temporal relationship between two main factors (specific ACEs and the youth’s own behavior) and out-of-home placements. We also plan to examine the relationship between these two factors and the persistence of specific placements. Data for this study consisted of archival records that were collected from a nonprofit inpatient treatment facility for adolescents who had engaged in sexually abusive behavior. The sample was comprised of 290 males and 5 females between the ages of 10 and 17 years of age (M = 14.8, SD = 1.56). The mean age was 14.8 years at time of first admission (SD = 1.56; range: 10-17 years). The sample was minimally diverse with regard to ethnicity: 83.1% Caucasian, 9.5% African American, 0.7% Hispanic, 4.4% mixed race, and 2.4% unspecified. The majority of participants were referred by the state’s Division of Children’s Services (68%), while others were referred by court representatives (20%), parents/guardians (3%), mental health providers (4%), insurance representatives (0.7%), or others (0.3%). These referrals were often used as an alternative to formal legal sanctioning (i.e., court diversion). Prior to admission, the majority of participants were residing in either a family member’s home (40.3%), residential care (78.3%) and/or foster care (48.4%), though others came from group homes (37.3%), inpatient care (36.9%), and/or a friend’s home (4.4%). The majority had only one admission to the current facility (89.5%), while approximately 10% had two or more admissions. It is expected that physical and sexual abuse will be the most significant predictors for placements like juvenile detention centers and residential treatment facilities. It is also expected that ACEs will prompt more immediate but also longer out-of-home placement decisions resulting from the youth’s own behavior. This study is for an honors thesis and has a completion deadline set for next month. For this reason, statistical analyses are still underway. Results and implications for this research will be discussed.

No description available.

According to the U.S Department of Health and Human services, each year approximately 826,000 children were the victims of abuse, and/ or neglect, which does not include other types of victimization like parental substance abuse and domestic violence within the home. Primary violence exposure (e.g., physical and sexual abuse) in childhood can result in anxiety, depression, and difficulty forming attachments. Secondary violence exposure (e.g., neglect, parental substance abuse, and domestic violence) can cause chronic stress in children and negatively impact physical, cognitive, and emotional growth. Unfortunately, examining the impact of primary and secondary victimization is complicated by the interrelatedness. This current study aims to examine the unique impact of primary and secondary violence on mental health outcomes in a sample of youths receiving residential sex offender treatment. We hypothesize that primary violence exposure will be highly associated with the number of mental health diagnoses, and use of psychotropic medications, while controlling for the impact of 2017 Appalachian Student Research Forum Page 177 secondary exposure. The sample includes male adolescents (N=245: 84.1% Caucasian) who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors and received residential treatment. Data were collected from archival records. Participants' mean age is 14.77 (SD=14.77) at time of first admission in the facility. Additionally, participants seeking mental health treatment were, on average, 10.22 years of age (SD= 4.187) at the time of first mental health diagnosis. Variables include exposure to physical or sexual abuse, experience of neglect, the presence of domestic violence and substance abuse in the home of origin, the types of mental health diagnosis, use of psychotropic medications, and the age of onset of earliest diagnosis. First, we used partial correlations to find associations between type of violence exposure and mental health diagnoses, age of first diagnosis, and use of psychotropic medications, while extracting the influence of the alternate type of exposure. Correlations between primary violence exposure and diagnoses of mental health concerns, yielded significant associations between primary exposure and mood disorder (r=.133, p=.041) diagnoses. Also, a significant association was found between primary exposure and anxiety/trauma- related disorders (r=.160, p=. 013). Significant associations were found for both mood disorder (r=.162, p=.012) and behavioral disorder (r=.212, p=.001). Age of onset of first mental health diagnosis was not significantly correlated with primary violence exposure or secondary violence exposure. While partialing out secondary violence exposure, primary violence was associated with use of mood stabilizers (r=.127, p=.05) and antipsychotic medications (r=.146, p=.024). Secondary violence exposure was exclusively related to use of any psychotropic drugs (r=.127, p=.004), mood stabilizers or antidepressants (r=.127, p=.05), and antipsychotic medications (r=.180, p=.05). Chi-square analyses will be conducted to further differentiate these outcomes following primary and secondary violence exposure.

No description available.