Debt Repayment: A Typology

This research paper presents a four-category typology of the debt market based on attitudinal and behavioral data associated with the repayment of student loans.  Qualitative interviews incorporating the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET®) as well as a quantitative survey were used to obtain the data so the typology could be created.  The four groups identified were the Life Indebted, the Traditionalist, the Entrepreneur, and the Expedient Payee.  

The individual experience of ageing prisoners: systematic review and meta-synthesis through a Good Lives Model framework

Objective: The existing literature on ageing prisoners tends to focus on such aspects as diagnosis and physical ill-health. In contrast, the experience of imprisonment from the perspective of ageing prisoners has received less attention. Grounded in a Good Lives Model theoretical framework, we reviewed and meta-synthesised literature around their experience of life in prison, its impact on their wellbeing and how prison services are currently addressing their complex needs. We further identify potential areas of improvement. Methods: 1. Systematic search on Assia, PsycInfo, MedLine, Embase, Web of Science, Google and Gov.uk. 2. Extraction and categorisation of data on NVivo. 3. Development of themes through thematic analysis and meta-synthesis. 4. Identification of potential areas of improvement. Results: We selected 25 studies for our review, of which thirteen were from the USA, seven from the UK, two from Australia and one each from Ireland, Switzerland and Israel. We identified three themes: The hardship of imprisonment, addressing health and social care needs, and the route out of prison. Conclusions: Ageing prisoners have unique and complex health and social care needs which, to varying degree across different countries, are mostly unmet. Promising initiatives to address their needs are emerging but, at present time, the overall experience of incarceration for the ageing prisoner is quite poor, given the inconsistent physical, emotional and social care support offered from prison intake to release and beyond

“A Cathartic Moment in a Man’s Life”: Homosociality and Gendered Fun on the Puttan Tour

Rarely addressed in academic scholarship, the puttan tour is a well-known form of entertainment in Italy where young men drive around in small groups with the aim of spotting street sex workers. On some occasions, the participants will approach the sex workers to strike up a conversation. On others, they will shout out insults from their car then drive away. This article aims to advance a detailed analysis of this underexplored cultural practice drawing on a diverse body of scholarship exploring the intersection of masculinity, leisure, and homosociality. By analyzing stories of puttan tours gathered mostly online, including written accounts and YouTube videos, our aim is to explore the appeal of the puttan tour through an analysis of how homosociality, humor, and laughter operate in this example of gendered fun. To this end, we look at the multiple and often equivocal meanings of this homosocial male-bonding ritual, its emotional and affective dynamics, and the ways in which it reproduces structures of inequality while normalizing violence against sex workers

An Evaluation of a Specialist Firesetting Treatment Programme for Male and Female Mentally Disordered Offenders (The FIP-MO)

Individuals who set deliberate fires are frequently encountered by clinicians working in forensic mental health services. However, little attention has been paid to developing standardised treatment for this behaviour and few evaluations of treatment have been conducted in forensic mental health services. This study evaluates a new standardised group cognitive behavioural treatment programme for individuals residing in forensic psychiatric hospitals who have engaged in deliberate firesetting (The Firesetting Intervention Programme for Mentally Disordered Offenders; FIP-MO). Sixty-three male and female patients with a history of deliberate firesetting commenced FIP-MO treatment. Patients who met the referral criteria for treatment but who resided at hospitals where FIP-MO treatment was not available were recruited as a Treatment as Usual comparison group. The treatment group completed a battery of psychometric assessments pre and post treatment, with the comparison group completing these at similar time points. Results showed that patients who completed the FIP-MO made significant improvements post-treatment, relative to the comparison group on fire-related measures (e.g., problematic interest and associations with fire) and anger expression. Further, effect size calculations showed that the treatment group made larger pre-post treatment shifts on the majority of outcome measures compared to the comparison group. These findings suggest that FIP-MO treatment is effective for reducing some of the key factors associated with deliberate firesetting

Does Helping Promote Well-being in At-risk Youth and Ex-offender Samples?

Numerous theories attempt to explain humans\u27 extraordinary prosociality, but predictions are rarely tested among antisocial individuals, whose dampened concern for others offers a particularly strong test of generalizability for prosocial action. To build upon past research demonstrating the emotional benefits of prosociality among non-offending populations and broaden our understanding of how far this relationship may extend, we examined whether the emotional benefits of prosocial spending are detectable in samples of delinquent youth and recent criminal offenders reporting elevated antisocial tendencies and psychopathic personality features. Findings reveal that, controlling for baseline happiness, ex-offenders (N = 501) report greater positive affect after recalling a time they spent money on others than after recalling a time they spent money on themselves. Similarly, delinquent youth (N = 64) and ex-offenders (N = 777) randomly assigned to purchase an item for a needy child reported greater positive affect than those who purchased an item for themselves. Finally, a large pre-registered replication (N = 1295) suggests the immediate emotional benefits of prosocial spending are detectable among ex-offenders when controlling for baseline happiness. Together, these findings demonstrate the emotional rewards of recalled and immediate acts of giving in a new and theoretically relevant population

The good lives model: a strength-based approach to forensic rehabilitation

The aim of the research was to explore whether the Good Lives Model (GLM) of offender rehabilitation could enhance the manner in which forensic rehabilitation is undertaken. The results were encouraging but suggested that greater attention to the wider system is required for full and effective implementation of the GLM

Exploration of the Patient-Derived Xenografts at the Jackson Laboratory

The patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumor model has been described as being more predictive of both human cancer biology and patient response to treatment [4]. The increasing need for the development of anti-cancer agents emphasizes the importance of the utilization of this model type. The Jackson Laboratory PDX collection consists of 770 data points from 264 different models and includes information regarding the growth rates of each model, as well as the clinical diagnoses of each corresponding tissue donor. The objective of this study was to characterize this collection and determine the relationship between growth rates and primary location of cancer within tissue donor. Three parameters of interest were highlighted: doubling time, latency and T1000. It was concluded that these parameters are not dependent on one another, indicating variable rates of growth over time. In addition, majority of models showed similar asymmetric patterns of growth, with peak frequencies between 10.1-20 days for doubling time and latency and 50.1-100 days for T1000. Future researchers should aim to include additional data from all primary site locations, as well as other ethnic groups

The quantified and customised museum:\ua0measuring, matching, and aggregating audiences

Mobile and wearable devices provide a range of new tools and approaches to measure the output metrics of the human body, especially in the medical and fitness realms. Cultural institutions similarly are drawing on a range of digital technologies to better understand the neural processes associated with visitor appreciation of artefacts. Harnessing data about how artworks and objects are experienced can be derived from measurable physical observations, such as an individual’s facial geometry, heartbeat, or retina movements. The Peabody Essex Museum in Salam, Massachusetts is used as a case study to explore the onsite quantification of the museum body. This example is placed in conversation with Google’s face match app, which uses computer vision to link user selfies with cultural collections. The discussion focuses on the evolution of a more quantified modality of cultural engagement, which places greater emphasis on the collection of data as an indicator of the quality of a museum visit

The logic of platforms: how “on demand” museums are adapting in the digital era

A central part of the museum, art gallery and library fulfilling their missions is the provision of broad public access to collections. As a reflection of this remit there is now a range of smartphone-like devices that work in conjunction with digital platforms to provide visitors with rich information about cultural artefacts. Drawing on interviews with 39 cultural workers, industry blogs and contemporary case-study examples, this article reflects upon the specific practices and tools that represent the materialisation of a participatory ideology. The aim is to consider the tensions associated with the digital transformation of cultural collections by locating the ongoing efforts of cultural workers and their reflections within existing critiques of surveillance technologies and participatory media. The paper contributes to continuing conversations about the relationship between data collection and cultural collections and identifies a blurring between the rationalities of cultural institutions and the logics of an algorithmic media system