Children's explanations of aggressive incidents at school within an attributional framework

Background and aims This study explores the types of attributions children make about school bullying situations and how these attributions may be related to subsequent behaviour and feelings. The relevant research background is explored - both from a bullying perspective and an attribution perspective. Psychological models that are thought relevant are discussed - particularly the learned helplessness model and Beck's cognitive-behavioural model. The aims of the study were: to explore the kinds of attributions made about bullying by a non-clinical population; to explore the different types of attributions made by children within a framework of later attribution theories; to explore the relationship between type of attribution and type of solution offered; and to explore the themes linking different types of attributions in children's stories. Design, measures and participants The study employed a mainly qualitative design but with some quantitative analysis using content analysis. Themes were explored using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Seventeen 9 and 10 year olds were interviewed at school using a semistructured questionnaire which asked questions about stories which children told about imagined aggressive situations. Results The results of the content analysis suggested that children made a range of attributions which could be coded into characterological and behavioural attributions. There was some suggestion from correlational data that these were related to the type of solution offered by the participants. Qualitative analysis explored some of the connections between the types of attributions and concluded by describing a typical framework for a 'story' about the bullying incidents. Implications Several implications are explored for both bullying and attribution research. Suggestions are given for school interventions - particularly the importance of working with the powerlessness of victims. For clinical interventions, some ideas are explored for working with children who have been bullied or bully - although future research would benefit from looking at attributions within a clinical population

'I thought it was normal: adolescents attempts to make sense of their experiences of domestic violence in their families

This paper describes the experience and impact of domestic violence on adolescents using qualitative methodology. It explores the meanings that adolescents give to their experiences and how this may relate to the impact of those experiences. Five adolescents who were receiving interventions within child and adolescent mental health services were interviewed about their experiences of domestic violence and the interviews were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The results suggest that adolescents had a range of thoughts and feelings connected to their experiences, and that the impact of the domestic violence may be related to the different meanings that the adolescents gave to their experiences and how they made sense of those experiences. The results are explored using theories such as Grych and Fincham’s Cognitive-Contextual Model; Watkin’s elaborated Control Theory; and, the work on post-traumatic growth. Research and clinical implications are discussed in the light of the results

Evaluating the Impact of Increased Cycling on Thermal Power Plants Due to Wind Energy Penetration in the Midwest: A Case Study

One of the most significant shifts in the mix of U.S. electricity generation over the past few years has been the rapid expansion of renewable energy resources, especially solar and wind. However, fossil fuels are still necessary to fulfill the world’s energy requirements. Despite efforts to increase the use of renewable energy sources, these sources can be at times unreliable, causing countries around the world to continue to rely on base load units such as coal and natural gas. This decrease in fossil fuels and increase in renewable energy sources presents many complex issues in terms of power system planning, meeting system demands, source reliability, and unit flexibility. The penetration of wind generation has resulted in base load units having to change their operational norms. Cycling is defined as frequently varying the load on power units to respond to changes in demand. Base load units are forced to conduct cyclic operations in order to stay competitive with other sources and contribute to the reliability of the region – giving rise to serious concerns about increased maintenance costs, increased forced outage rates, thermal shock, decreased unit efficiency, and increased emissions due to this cycling. Historical plant data was collected from a base load unit in South Dakota from 2018 – 2023 with the goals of quantifying the increase of unit cycling and analyzing the effect cycling has on emissions and unit efficiency. Overall, from 2018 through 2023, cycling saw a decrease of 1.75% - all cycle types decreased except for half cycles which had an increase of 133.33%

The nature, scope and purpose of spatial planning in South Africa : towards a more coherent legal framework under SPLUMA

Planning law has a significant role to play in facilitating and governing development within a country. In South Africa, a shift has occurred from the utilisation of planning laws to regulating development, to facilitating it. A key area of this legal discipline is spatial planning, which determines the ideal utilisation and allocation of an area for certain land uses. The history of spatial planning in South Africa, and more specifically in the Western Cape, is an interesting one as the planning system that exists is fragmented and fraught with confusion. This has resulted in issues, confusion and conflicts which has resulted in numerous court cases. Previous attempts to reform the planning regime have proven to be somewhat unsuccessful as inherent challenges persist whilst new challenges have arisen. Prior to the introduction of the Constitution, spatial planning was utilised to promote Apartheid ideologies. In 1994 South Africa entered into a democratic era, entrenching equal rights and subjecting all laws to the Constitution. This had hefty impetus for spatial planning and its instruments which, to a large extent, were racially biased and therefore became unconstitutional. The legal regime governing spatial planning was tasked with addressing the ills of apartheid and simultaneously striving towards the goal of sustainable development. Issues and challenges have arisen, which have resulted in a fragmented and incoherent planning dispensation. These challenges and issues include the persistence of old order planning legislation and sector policies with activities operating parallel to the planning discipline. Consequently, there is overlap and confusion with regard to the purpose and legal status of spatial planning instruments. To address this at the national sphere, in 2013 contemporary planning reform was embarked upon, with the enactment of Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA). In light of recent planning reform triggered by the commencement of SPLUMA, the aim of this dissertation is to determine if SPLUMA provides a more coherent legal regime governing spatial planning in South Africa. This is pursued by understanding the role spatial planning has had in South Africa, by determining the nature, scope and purpose that spatial planning under the legal regime prior to SPLUMA. During Apartheid a dichotomy of planning systems existed, where different areas were governed by different laws which were underpinned by racial segregation. This resulted in significant issues of fragmentation and confusion. The transition to democracy brought about significant changes to the legal landscape, including planning as the nature, scope and purpose of spatial planning was tasked with addressing the ills of apartheid and promoting sustainability. Although legislative reform was triggered by democracy, clarity of the legal framework governing spatial planning did not occur. One of the contributing factors of this was the persistence of old order legislation and the spatial planning instruments it provided for. The commencement of SPLUMA has triggered wholesale reform which aims to provide a more coherent legal regime governing spatial planning. Positive strides towards this are evident, including the uniform approach which is applicable throughout South Africa that SPLUMA adopts

Adolescent sex offenders with autism spectrum conditions: currently used treatment approaches and their impact

Aims: Offending behaviour in adolescents with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) is rare. However, some theoretical links have been drawn between sexual offending and autism-typical deficits. Although research in this area is scarce, case-studies have begun to evaluate the impact of treatments for juvenile sexual offenders with ASC. This review aimed to summarise the available treatments for this group and their impact on young people (YP). Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted. Six online data-bases were searched for studies detailing interventions with adolescent sexual offenders with ASC. Results: Six case-studies were reviewed. Interventions consisted of detailed assessments, staff training, peer support, medication, and adapted cognitive- behavioural therapy. One case-study used narrative techniques. Only two studies reported on objective and measurable treatment effects whilst the remainder relied solely on anecdotal evidence. Studies presenting quantitative data found a decrease in sexual arousal, absconding, sexually harmful/inappropriate behaviour, and masturbation to deviant fantasies. Anecdotal evidence pointed to increased insight, flexibility, ability to open-up, and reintegration. The overall quality of studies was low with one exception. Research and clinical implications are discussed. Conclusions: Whilst some benefitted from the currently used treatment options, results cannot be generalised due to methodological flaws

A review of school approaches to increasing pupil resilience

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the literature on whole school approaches to increasing resilience in pupils. This is pertinent with the increase in children and young people’s mental health needs creating extra pressure on schools to foster young people’s ability to withstand stress and adversity. Whilst previous reviews have considered the ways in which schools support their pupils, the extent to which resilience has been reliably measured has varied. Recently, several validated resilience measures have been developed which allows for potentially more robust research to take place. This systematic review therefore summarises and critiques the literature exploring whole school approaches to resilience development only where a validated measure has been used. Eleven studies were reviewed and demonstrate that there is a trend between school factors and pupil resilience. The importance of supportive relationships with both peers and staff in school is highlighted in several studies as well as the positive effect of including a robust health promoting school’s agenda situated within local communities. However, the number of limitations identified within the current literature suggests that this review is not able to offer clear recommendations to schools. This review will, however, be helpful to schools, local authorities and the government in allowing them to take more of a critical stance in understanding resilience within a school context

Measuring competence in systemic practice: development of the ‘systemic family practice – systemic competency scale’ (SPS)

Ensuring that practitioners are competent in the therapies they deliver is important for training, therapeutic outcomes and ethical practice. The development of the Systemic Practice Scale (SPS) is reported - a measure to assess the competence of novice systemic practitioners trialed by Children and Young Person’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP-IAPT) training courses. Initial reliability assessment of the SPS with twenty-eight supervisors of systemic practice evaluating students’ competence using an online recording of a family therapy session is detailed. The SPS was found to be a reliable measure of systemic competence across training settings. Rating variability was noted, with training and benchmarking to improve rating consistency recommended. Further research using the SPS to further establish the reliability and validity of the scale is required