"Looking is not as bad as touching - or is it?" Considering risk in offenders who use child sexual exploitation material

There has been much debate about the availability of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) on the internet, highlighted by the tragic deaths of April Jones (5 years) and Tia Sharp (12 years), whose killers viewed and collected CSEM. Discussion surrounding such cases has focused on a potentially causal link between CSEM and sexually motivated crimes against children. Since the advent of the internet, convictions for the possession, exchange and/or production of CSEM have risen dramatically. A substantial body of research on internet sex offenders has emerged and professionals are developing a knowledge base regarding assessment and treatment needs of CSEM users. However, the question of risk remains a central concern: How likely is a CSEM user to commit a contact sex offence against a child in the future? Is there a causal link between “looking” and “touching”? The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, together with Prof Derek Perkins (West London Mental Health Trust) & Dr Hannah Merdian (University of Lincoln) would like to invite you to a one-day conference addressing the issue of risk assessment and risk management in working with CSEM users. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation (LFF) is a child protection charity, committed to reducing the risk of children being sexually abused. Proceeds from the conference and any donations will go to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation with sincere thanks to support its work

3D Printed Embedded Force Sensors

Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing has opened the door to an endless amount of opportunities, including recent advances in conductive and resistive circuit printing. Taking advantage of these new technologies, we have designed a 3D printed insole with embedded plantar pressure sensor arrays. The customizable aspect of 3D printing allowed us to uniquely design a multitude of sensors. With the use of a dual extrusion printer we were able to produce a model that printed both the resistive circuit and complete insole simultaneously. These distinctive technologies have given us the capability to capture valuable pressure data from the sole of the foot. Analog signals sent from the pressure sensor arrays are received and processed through an attached multiplexer designed specifically for this application. The signal is then digitized and transmitted over the SPI transfer protocol to a processor and wirelessly communicated, via Bluetooth Low Energy, to a mobile android device to allow the user to easily record and interpret the array\u27s pressure data in real-time. The android device houses a pressure mapping view to show the gradient of force throughout the insole. With the capabilities of this insole we have provided an avenue for physicians and physical therapists to gather quantifiable insight into their patient\u27s progression throughout the rehabilitation process. With more intelligent and personalized data the applications of this technology are countless.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1147/thumbnail.jp

Internet-based child sexual exploitation: case formulation and intervention planning

This workshop will review current research and practice on assessing and intervening with individuals who access child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), and introduce the UK onlineProtect Pathways Model of CSEM offending for assessment and treatment planning. The model comprises motivational and facilitative factors, including the interactions between personal vulnerabilities, situational factors and the online contingences operating on those accessing CSEM. Our approach to case assessment and formulation, with accompanying worksheets and case material, will be made available alongside opportunities for participants to raise and discuss cases and issues of concern in their own professional practice

Online sex offending: approaches to assessment and intervention [introduction to the special issue]

Sexual offending against children has been an issue of major public and scientific concern over the last 50 years, and strategies and methods for managing risk and treating such offenders have gradually been developed and utilised across the world . Whilst there has been a marked and consistent decline in child sexual abuse over the last 20 years, the production and online accessing of Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) – in visual and written form – has dramatically increased in parallel with the growth and accessibility of the Internet (e.g. Kloess, Beech, & Harkins, 2014). Further worrying developments include children being abused live online and the online grooming of children for contact sexual abuse

The Use of an Exact Algorithm within a Tabu Search Maximum Clique Algorithm

Let G = (V, E) be an undirected graph with vertex set V and edge set E. A clique C of G is a subset of the vertices of V with every pair of vertices of C adjacent. A maximum clique is a clique with the maximum number of vertices. A tabu search algorithm for the maximum clique problem that uses an exact algorithm on subproblems is presented. The exact algorithm uses a graph coloring upper bound for pruning, and the best such algorithm to use in this context is considered. The final tabu search algorithm successfully finds the optimal or best known solution for all standard benchmarks considered. It is compared with a state-of-the-art algorithm that does not use exact search. It is slower to find the known optimal solution for most instances but is faster for five instances and finds a larger clique for two instances

Linear and nonlinear constructions of DNA codes with Hamming distance d, constant GC-content and a reverse-complement constraint

AbstractIn a previous paper, the authors used cyclic and extended cyclic constructions to obtain codes over an alphabet {A,C,G,T} satisfying a Hamming distance constraint and a GC-content constraint. These codes are applicable to the design of synthetic DNA strands used in DNA microarrays, as DNA tags in chemical libraries and in DNA computing. The GC-content constraint specifies that a fixed number of positions are G or C in each codeword, which ensures uniform melting temperatures. The Hamming distance constraint is a step towards avoiding unwanted hybridizations. This approach extended the pioneering work of Gaborit and King. In the current paper, another constraint known as a reverse-complement constraint is added to further prevent unwanted hybridizations.Many new best codes are obtained, and are reproducible from the information presented here. The reverse-complement constraint is handled by searching for an involution with 0 or 1 fixed points, as first done by Gaborit and King. Linear codes and additive codes over GF(4) and their cosets are considered, as well as shortenings of these codes. In the additive case, codes obtained from two different mappings from GF(4) to {A,C,G,T} are considered

Strength-based approaches to online child sexual abuse: Using self-management strategies to enhance desistance behaviour in users of child sexual exploitation material

© 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Increasing numbers of convictions for the use of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) call for enhanced measures to prevent this type of offending. Strength-based approaches such as the good lives model have made significant contributions to the management of offenders who have sexually abused against children. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: The present study explored the application of these models to the rehabilitation and desistance behaviour of CSEM users, based on a thematic analysis of the self-managed desistance strategies employed by 26 offenders. Findings: The findings confirmed the value of strength-based approaches in understanding self-management strategies used to enhance desistance behaviour in CSEM users. Research limitations/implications: The empirical and theoretical findings were then combined into a conceptual framework aimed to enhance preventative efforts and interventions targeted at undetected CSEM users. Originality/value: This paper provides the first conceptual and empirical model of prevention and desistance behaviour specific to CSEM offending

Online users of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM)

Recent years have seen a substantial increase in the number of individuals engaging in offences relating to the online use of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), to the point that UK police forces have stated that they “cannot arrest their way out of the problem”. Current movements are shifting the focus towards primary and secondary prevention efforts through public health campaigns, yet our knowledge of this typology of offending still remains somewhat limited. As such, a research project has been established to explore some of the remaining unanswered questions, for example, what are the motivations behind this type of offence? This poster will showcase the research project, exploring demographic and psychological factors associated with CSEM offending. The investigation includes both detected and “undetected” users of CSEM recruited internationally from the UK’s justice system and Germany’s Prevention Project Dunkelfeld (treatment programme for people attracted to children and/ or adolescents). Data is based on self-report questionnaires assessing personality, sexuality and general wellbeing, early life experiences, sexual and relationship history, education and employment, and details of offending behaviour. The poster will present implications for the prevention, assessment, and management of individuals (including those at risk of) accessing CSEM