The training in empowerment for professionals and paraprofessionals for enhancement of substance abuse treatment, integration and systems.

This dissertation is a qualitative study on training in empowerment of practitioners that will impact treatment within the substance abuse field. The study explored training of practitioners and presented a model of integrative training that will enhance the state of the art in dealing with the substance-abusing client. Review of the literature in the intervention and treatment of the addictions reflects considerable gaps in the training of professionals and paraprofessionals. Although there are a number of training models provided, a consistent approach to the empowerment, professional education and training within this diverse field is not evident. More importantly, there is not, as validated in the literature, an integrative model of training for professionals and paraprofessionals which provides for co-joint training, interactional skill development, and sharing of attitudes which impact positively on the practitioner\u27s ability to engage and treat the substance abuser. These issues of improving training and education for professionals and paraprofessionals are of significance and are addressed in this study. The study of training and professional development utilized throughout a multi-method of inquiry, i.e., literature search, surveys, and interviews with practitioners. The study explores existing training and staff development and the potential needs/gaps noted by treatment staff through questionnaires and focus interviews. Data from all sources are categorized, organized, and summarized by using content analysis on all written and verbal communications. These data establish the existing level of training and identify specialized areas of concentration that are needed to impact professionalism and the delivery of services. This qualitative approach examines the training and staff development of practitioners--both professional and paraprofessional--and assesses which areas--knowledge, skill development, and attitudinal awareness--must be improved and what type of training designs are necessary to achieve these goals. Crucial in this quest is the method of training for education (pre-service) and staff development (in-service) which impact professionalism. Based on study findings, a training model is created that can impact the state of the art of training in the field of substance abuse

The Effect of a Training on Client\u27s Relationship Satisfaction and Awareness of Domestic Violence

The pui-pose of the current study was to test the effectiveness of a curriculum focused on the prevention and intervention of domestic violence and healthy, nonabusive relationships. A relationship training created by the author was tested in order to assess whether relationship satisfaction was affected by the relationship training, with the expectation that those who have experienced or are experiencing abusive relationships would become more aware of their relationship dissatisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship training was assessed according to the anticipated increase in the experimental group’s knowledge of domestic violence. Pre-test and post-test measures were used to assess relationship satisfaction and knowledge of domestic violence. Instruments included the Questionnaire on Violence in Intimate Relationships, Relationship Assessment Scale, Abusive Behavior Inventory, and The Relationship Awareness Scale. The hypotheses of the study included: 1) Participants who ir\u27\u27 :ally rate their current or previous relationship as nonabusive will have no change after the relationships training, 2) Participants who initially endorse or report a range of domestic violence will have a significant decrease in relationship satisfaction after the relationship training, and 3) Relationships training will significantly increase the group’s knowledge of abusive behaviors

The dark side of the internet: a study about representations of the deep web and the Tor network in the British press

The imaginary of the Deep Web is commonly associated with crime, crypto markets and immoral content. However, the best-known Deep Web system, the Tor Network, is a technology developed to protect people’s privacy through online anonymity, in the context of the contemporary culture of surveillance, thus enabling civil liberties. To understand this contradiction, this thesis looks at the British press representation of the Deep Web and the Tor Network. An extensive empirical research study unveils how newspapers portray these technologies, by looking at meanings, uses and users. In order to meet this goal, this research conducts a content analysis of 833 articles about Deep Web technologies published between 2001 and 2017 by six British newspapers – tabloids Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and The Sun, and quality newspapers Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times – and a critical discourse analysis of 58 reports mentioning the Tor Network, issued by the same newspapers, between 2008 and 2017. The findings demonstrate that the British press represents the Deep Web in a sharply negative way, through negative concepts, definitions and associations. This portrayal attributes opacity to the Deep Web, engendering distrust of its uses and propagating user stereotypes that reflect an overall criminalisation of privacy. Also, the press presents a hyper- panic approach by consistently connecting this new medium to well-known social anxieties and portraying these technologies as undesirable, immoral and illegal. Hyper-panic is the theoretical contribution of this thesis and can be explained as the way in which media panic (the Deep Web, in this case) multiplies moral panic (for instance, terrorism, paedophilia and drug consumption). Specifically about Tor, this work concludes that the media present multiple aspects of this system, from discussing the ways in which one can enable civil liberties, to condemning criminals hiding behind technology, addressing the inherent ambivalence connected to the uses of online anonymity, i.e. it is neither completely bad nor completely good. The general synopsis about Tor, however, is still negative. Finally, the consistent association by the British press between the Deep Web and criminal and antisocial behaviours promotes a dissociation between the Deep Web and the Web itself, in that cyberspace is separated between negative uses (the Deep Web) and positive uses (the Web), instead of being understood as a nuanced whole

Dissociation and interpersonal autonomic physiology in psychotherapy research: an integrative view encompassing psychodynamic and neuroscience theoretical frameworks

Interpersonal autonomic physiology is an interdisciplinary research field, assessing the relational interdependence of two (or more) interacting individual both at the behavioral and psychophysiological levels. Despite its quite long tradition, only eight studies since 1955 have focused on the interaction of psychotherapy dyads, and none of them have focused on the shared processual level, assessing dynamic phenomena such as dissociation. We longitudinally observed two brief psychodynamic psychotherapies, entirely audio and video-recorded (16 sessions, weekly frequency, 45 min.). Autonomic nervous system measures were continuously collected during each session. Personality, empathy, dissociative features and clinical progress measures were collected prior and post therapy, and after each clinical session. Two-independent judges, trained psychotherapist, codified the interactions\u2019 micro-processes. Time-series based analyses were performed to assess interpersonal synchronization and de-synchronization in patient\u2019s and therapist\u2019s physiological activity. Psychophysiological synchrony revealed a clear association with empathic attunement, while desynchronization phases (range of length 30-150 sec.) showed a linkage with dissociative processes, usually associated to the patient\u2019s narrative core relational trauma. Our findings are discussed under the perspective of psychodynamic models of Stern (\u201cpresent moment\u201d), Sander, Beebe and Lachmann (dyad system model of interaction), Lanius (Trauma model), and the neuroscientific frameworks proposed by Thayer (neurovisceral integration model), and Porges (polyvagal theory). The collected data allows to attempt an integration of these theoretical approaches under the light of Complex Dynamic Systems. The rich theoretical work and the encouraging clinical results might represents a new fascinating frontier of research in psychotherapy

Recent Advances in Forensic Anthropological Methods and Research

Forensic anthropology, while still relatively in its infancy compared to other forensic science disciplines, adopts a wide array of methods from many disciplines for human skeletal identification in medico-legal and humanitarian contexts. The human skeleton is a dynamic tissue that can withstand the ravages of time given the right environment and may be the only remaining evidence left in a forensic case whether a week or decades old. Improved understanding of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that modulate skeletal tissues allows researchers and practitioners to improve the accuracy and precision of identification methods ranging from establishing a biological profile such as estimating age-at-death, and population affinity, estimating time-since-death, using isotopes for geolocation of unidentified decedents, radiology for personal identification, histology to assess a live birth, to assessing traumatic injuries and so much more

Crime and its Control in the People's Republic of China

The Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong was established in 1999 to provide a home for indigenous studies of crime and criminal justice in Hong Kong and the region. As part of this objective it sought to provide a platform for both academics and practitioners to share their knowledge and to assist in the development of effective strategies to deal with the increasingly sophisticated problem of crime. The annual symposium on 'Crime and its Control in Greater China' functions as a forum to discuss interdisciplinary research on crime relevant to Greater China. The various components of Greater China have common cultural, linguistic and economic bonds that give rise to some similar crime problems and opportunities to resolve them. Therefore it seemed appropriate that both scholars and practitioners from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan should meet to discuss their research on these issues. In the furtherance of these objectives it has been gratifying that the Chinese Peoples' Public Security University has participated in these events and co-hosted the 3rd Symposium. They also organised a Symposium in Beijing in 2002 to discuss ‘Criminal Trends and Countermeasures’and invited the Centre for Criminology to co-host, that event. This is the type of synergy that our annual event aspires to generate. A conscious intention of the annual symposium is to be broad in terms of both the range of topics covered and the depth of experience of the speakers. For this reason the symposium has provided a platform for postgraduate students to introduce their research as well as for well-established scholars with an international reputation for excellence in their chosen area of research. To further the concept of providing a bridge between academia and practice, several speakers are usually invited from the private sector to present their views on the problems and issues that concern them. These proceedings provide a record of selected papers presented at the various symposia and demonstrate the wide variety of topics covered and interests of speakers. I hope this bilingual event will help to fill the need that exists for a joint effort to review and discuss developments in criminology relevant to Greater China