Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 235-237).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Susan K. Blessing, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Physics. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 22, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 138 pages. Non-Latin script record Includes bibliographical references.

Frankfurt (Main), Universiẗat, Diss., 2004.

Mémoire (M.A.) - Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 2006. / Bibliogr.: f. [100]-109. Également disponible en format microfiche.

Diss. Ph. D.--Birmingham--University of Birmingham, 1996. / Bibliogr. p. 368-391. Index.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the impact of polygraphy disclosure and recidivism (particularly for sex offenders), gain greater understanding of some of the psychological mechanisms involved, and, in the light of this, consider the value of its application in forensic settings. Chapter one presents a general introduction to the topic. Chapter two presents a systematic review of the relevant literature. In particular, it explores the utility of postconviction polygraph testing amongst sexual offenders, with a primary focus upon its influence in facilitating disclosure. The findings are generally supportive of the view that the polygraph is a useful technique for eliciting additional information from offenders, which, in turn, can assist in achieving a more accurate understanding of current risk and criminal history. It is noted, however, that there continues to be a paucity of high quality research evidence, in particular, a lack of adequately controlled studies. Further research is needed to gain more secure understandings of the polygraph’s potential. Chapter three offers a critique of the use of the postconviction polygraph in the monitoring, assessment and supervision of convicted sex offenders. This notes a degree of partisanship in arguments for and against its use. The chapter seeks to offer an analysis of available evidence concerning the utility of the post-conviction polygraph in encouraging disclosures amongst sexual offenders under investigation in both custodial and noncustodial settings. Those who support the use of the polygraph typically argue that such disclosure provides fuller histories of deviant sexual behaviour, admissions of previously unknown offences/victims, and increased reporting of other high-risk behaviours. However, noting the concerns of those opposed to its use, the ongoing challenges and shortfalls of the polygraph are also referenced. In the light of the analysis, it is proposed that the method should not be used in isolation but, where appropriate, in conjunction with a range of other assessment tools before reaching a risk-related conclusion concerning sexual offenders. The ‘bogus pipeline to the truth’ effect is an argument used to challenge the veracity of polygraph data, as its underlying premise is that the value of the polygraph in eliciting disclosure is not grounded in its accuracy, but, rather, in false claims regarding its ability to detect deception (which, as a result, will often elicit more truthful responses from those being tested). In other words, disclosure can be derived from psychologically manipulating examinees by convincing them that the lie detector is significantly more accurate than it actually is. In chapter four, an empirical research study explores the bogus pipeline effect upon disclosures made by students who were earlier exposed to cheating behaviour. Participants experienced within-group cheating by a study confederate and later placed in one of three conditions in which they were asked about the occurrence of cheating within their group. Two groups were attached to a bogus lie detector and informed that this was either 75% accurate or 100% accurate. Control participants were not attached to the lie detector, but simply asked if they had been present in a group that had cheated. Findings demonstrated that those participants attached to a bogus lie detector were more likely to disclose cheating within their group than those asked in the absence of the machine. However, there were no significant differences in rates of disclosure between the 75% and 100% condition. The influence of suggestibility, personality and gender upon disclosure amongst all conditions revealed no effects confounding the relationship. A single case study is presented in Chapter five. It details some of the ways by which the psychologist can encourage a client with paranoid schizophrenia, and a history of sex offending, to reflect openly upon his psychological and behavioural circumstances. Subsequently, it considers whether a measure such as the polygraph, designed to encourage honest accounts and attributions, could be of value in work with those clients whose thought processes are distorted by psychotic conditions. In contextualising this issue, the chapter describes and evaluates the usefulness of a ten week psychosis awareness group programme for a sexual offender treated within a medium security hospital. The influence of this psychoeducation programme on levels of understanding, disclosure and personal acceptance of his mental illness is discussed, and recommendations for further psychological work are made. Subsequently, the association between psychotic symptoms and sexual offending is explored, as is the suitability of a future polygraph for this client In Chapter six a synoptic discussion of the work presented concludes the thesis. This addresses the current position on the bogus pipeline paradigm. Finally, the chapter seeks to provide an informed position concerning the use of the post-conviction polygraph in forensic settings.

BACKGROUND: Problem Based Learning (PBL) facilitators have sometimes sought to motivate learners to ‘talk more’ in order to ‘learn more’ but there has been little work to differentiate through differences evident in their speech behaviour during PBL discussions and to identify which differences are associated with successful learning. Corpus analysis is a useful tool for probing students’ speech in PBL, providing a quantitative basis for examining student talk. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to create a speech corpus of at least 100,000 words, which identifies each individual student’s contribution to a PBL discussion of the same case at the same time within six randomly selected, gender-balanced PBL groups. The study then uses corpus analysis to explore the nature of the speech of individuals and their performance in learning. A statistical analysis was designed to triangulate findings through measuring and analysing underlying factors thought to influence the speech behaviour of individual learners, such as gender and personality type and to identify correlations with educational attainment. METHODS: Wmatrix3 was used to identify significant differences in frequency, parts of speech and semantic category usage from verbatim transcripts of the same three session cycle of PBL. SPSS analyses identified significant differences between learners’ speech behaviour, personality type, gender and attainment in the first year. RESULTS: Multiple and simple linear regression analysis demonstrates significant correlation to a moderate degree between certain data points. In summary, the calmer, more conscientious, lower openness to experience learner, with a high GAMSAT score, achieved significantly higher MCQ scores at the end of year one. Introverted students spoke less frequently, but with longer utterances. Male students spoke significantly more frequently than female students. More emotionally reactive (neurotic) students achieved significantly lower scores on knowledge tests at the close of year one and their talk focussed their own performance. Corpus analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences between personality, gender, high and low test performers. Lower performers frequently dwelt on ‘what’ and ‘why’ and more general technical terminology. Higher performers used ‘when’ and ‘how’ and highly specific technical vocabulary more frequently. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that corpus analysis of PBL transcripts provides rich evidence of significant differences in individual speech behaviour whilst learning through discussion. The results broadly replicate well-established findings about gender communication styles and personality difference. This suggests that there may be a utilitarian case for enhancing the approach of PBL facilitators and learners to individual differences without resorting to the overgeneralisations of stereotyping. For example, male and female learners often demonstrate different communication strategies, which may potentially limit the breadth of their future clinical communication skills. Facilitators and learners may use this awareness to explicitly encourage both male and female learners to adopt the full range of communication behaviours. It is important for facilitators to model best practice in their own communication in the initial sessions. By making such language patterns evident, it becomes possible to ensure that PBL groups become more skilled in initiating spontaneous contributions from introvert and female learners, in encouraging longer contributions from extraverts, more factual statements from female students and more varied types of speech from male learners. Learners who identify themselves as emotionally reactive (neurotic or volatile) could productively seek to moderate unproductive anxiety from an early stage through adopting excellent study habits and attitudes, particularly with respect to assessments.

Background For epidemiological research purposes structured data provide identifiable and immediate access to the information that has been recorded, however, many quantitative recordings in electronic medical records are unstructured. This means researchers have to manually identify and extract information of interest. This is costly in terms of time and money and with access to larger amounts of electronically stored data this approach is becoming increasingly impractical. Method Two programmatic methods were developed to extract and classify numeric quantities and identify attributes from unstructured dosage instructions and clinical comments from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database. Both methods are based on frequently occurring patterns of recording from which models were formed. Dosage instructions: Automated coding was achieved through the interpretation of a representative set of language phrases with identifiable traits. The dosage data table was automatically recoded and assessed for accuracy and coverage of a daily dosage value, then assessed in the context of 146 commonly prescribed medications. Clinical comments: Automated coding was achieved through the identification of a representative set of text and/or Read code qualifications. The model was initially trained on THIN data for a wide range of numeric health indicators, then tested for generalizability using comments from an alternative source and assessed for accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity using a subset of 12 commonly recorded health indicators. Results Dosage instructions: The coverage of a daily dosage value within the dosage data table was increased from 42.1% to 84.8% coverage with an accuracy of 84.6%. For the 146 medications assessed, on a per-unique-instruction basis, the coverage was 79.7% on average with an accuracy of 95.4%. On an all-recorded-instructions basis the weighted coverage was 65.9% on average with an accuracy of 99.3%. Clinical comments: For all 12 of the health indicators assessed the automated extraction achieved a specificity of >98% and an accuracy of >99%. The sensitivity was >96% for 8 of the indicators and between 52-88% for the other indicators. Conclusion Dosage instructions: The automated coding has improved the quantitative and qualitative summary for dosage instructions within THIN resulting in a substantial increase in the quantity of data available for pharmaco-epidemiological research. Clinical comments: The sensitivity of the extraction method is dependent on the consistency of recording patterns, which in turn was dependent on the ability to identify the differing patterns of qualification during training.

Thesis Aim: Boundary violations are committed when a professional crosses the emotional, physical, spiritual or sexual limits of another, thus disrupting the relationship between staff and clients. This thesis explores this issue in the context of healthcare and forensic settings. It identifies boundary violation risk and protective factors for staff working with forensic healthcare patients. The thesis also investigates reasons why staff under-report and may not whistleblow their concerns in these areas. Methods: A mixed method approach was used to explore multiple elements of this topic. A systematic review was used to identify risk factors associated with staff committing boundary violations in healthcare and forensic settings. This was then expanded, through a regression, to specifically look at risk and protective factors in the forensic healthcare settings. A thematic analysis was carried out to explore staff’s perceptions of whistleblowing and boundary violating behaviours. A case study and several psychometrics (including the Exploitation Index) were also used to investigate this topic in more depth and assess the impact that boundary violating can have on the patients involved. Findings: The setting and environment were shown, through the systematic review, to be key when exploring this topic, as they not only impact on the definition of boundary violating along with what factors protect or put staff at risk of boundary violating. The regression identified risk factors, including staff feeling they had no one to turn to and working alone with patients. There were also factors which protected staff from committing boundary violations, such as having good social support and receiving training about boundaries. The thematic analysis found that people did not raise concerns of colleagues’ boundary violating due to concerns about anonymity, feeling that nothing would be done, and feeling that personally intervening (not management) would be a more effective method. Conclusions: It is of great importance to explore this topic and develop a greater understanding of boundary violations, as the impact of and harm caused by this behaviour are wide ranging. This thesis can aid the identification of professionals at risk, and create strategies to prevent or manage this destructive behaviour. These findings can also help create a more open and honest arena for concerns about boundaries to be raised and managed.

[No abstract submitted] / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate