The effects of sexually explicit material on children and young people

Recently interest into the effects of pornography on children and young people has grown leading to an increase in studies in the area, laws being changed and public concern growing. This paper aims to recap these findings including more recent studies carried out in the UK. The literature shows links between viewing pornography and sexually explicit material and young people’s attitudes and behaviours. This suggests that youth culture is affected by sexual imagery (Anderson, Shibuya, Ihori, et al, 2010; Löfgren-Martenson & Mansson, 2010; Peter & Valkenburg, 2007) and that this influences children and young people’s attitudes and behaviours (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). The impact is contingent on the young person’s support network (L’Engle, Brown & Kenneavy, 2004), social learning (Hunter, Figueredo & Malamuth, 2010) and other demographic factors, not least gender which has been consistently found to be significant (e.g. Stermer & Burkley, 2012). Recent studies have found changes in sexual practices of young people which are attributed to viewing pornography such as an increase in anal sex and casual attitudes to consent (Marston & Lewis, 2014). Links between porn use and sexual coercion have also been found (Wright, et al 2014). How and in what ways children and young people are affected by such imagery - and what can be done to reduce the negative impact on young people is debated in the light of the gaps in the literature and the issues with the existing literature. Further need for study is discussed along with planned areas of research

Independant Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVA's) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: A study of impacts, effects, coping mechanisms and effective support systems for people working as ISVAs and ISVA managers

This study is the first of its kind in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and was carried out to gather information about the impact of working as Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) or ISVA Managers. The ISVA role is relatively new, and as such, little is known about this difficult and emotionally charged work. Although some literature looks at the impact of working in the sexual violence field, there is little from England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and even less focused on the direct, ongoing, face-to-face work ISVAs do. This report focuses on the impacts, effects, coping mechanisms and effective support systems for people working as ISVAs and ISVA Managers in supporting victim-survivors of sexual violence across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since its introduction in 2005, the ISVA role has been invaluable in providing continuous support to victim-survivors of sexual violence and working to meet their emotional and practical needs during the criminal justice process. As conviction rates are at an all-time low, ISVAs can also provide support to people who may otherwise feel let down by the Criminal Justice System. ISVAs can also support people who do not want to report the crime to the police – helping people at, potentially, the lowest point of their life. This survey focused on providing an overview of the ISVA role (e.g. context they work in, caseloads, supervision and support available) and determining which factors predict the likelihood of experiencing negative and positive impacts as a result of the work they do

The ‘cost’ of caring in policing: From burnout to PTSD in police officers in England and Wales

This article looks at secondary trauma of police officers caused by working with traumatised victims, examining what is the true ‘cost of caring’ for police officers in England and Wales. It will discuss common work-related ‘stressors’ in policing and review the concepts commonly associated with secondary trauma such as ‘burnout’, ‘vicarious trauma’, ‘compassion fatigue’, ‘secondary traumatic stress’ and their impact. It will conclude with some recommendations and highlight the serious lack of literature on this topic, making secondary trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder in policing an under researched area, particularly in relation to the effects of cumulative trauma in policing

Can Measuring Levels of Serum Adhesion Proteins Replace the Ankle Brachial Index in the Fight Against Peripheral Artery Disease?

If you knew that you were going to have one of both of your legs amputated due to a preventable medical condition in the future, then any sane person would want to find a way of preventing such a disabling and life changing event. Currently peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a growing threat to health in modern times, which can lead to the situation mentioned above. Due to diet and lifestyle risk factors, PAD incidence has increased as the world has become more developed.1 Mankind is unlikely to stop its march onward towards ever more developed states of living, which likely will mean even less healthy diets and more sedentary lifestyles in the years to come. With the trends as they are, with more than eight million Americans currently suffering from PAD and that number actively rising worldwide it is clear that something must be done.2 While it is not currently agreed upon that PAD screening should be conducted in asymptomatic individuals, this is primarily due to the infeasibility of accurately conducting such screens. A secondary hurdle is that screening is something that is typically only conducted when there is an established methodology for preventing the progression of, or reversing the damage done by, the condition. With things as they are, it might seem that there is no hope for PAD screening, but a new age is dawning thanks to cutting-edge research

Theoretical limits on magnetic field strengths in low-mass stars

Observations have suggested that some low-mass stars have larger radii than predicted by 1-D structure models. Some theoretical models have invoked very strong interior magnetic fields (of order 1 MG or more) as a possible cause of such large radii. Whether fields of that strength could in principle by generated by dynamo action in these objects is unclear, and we do not address the matter directly. Instead, we examine whether such fields could remain in the interior of a low mass object for a significant time, and whether they would have any other obvious signatures. First, we estimate timescales for the loss of strong fields by magnetic buoyancy instabilities. We consider a range of field strengths and simple morphologies, including both idealized flux tubes and smooth layers of field. We confirm some of our analytical estimates using thin flux tube magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the rise of buoyant fields in a fully-convective M-dwarf. Separately, we consider the Ohmic dissipation of such fields. We find that dissipation provides a complementary constraint to buoyancy: while small-scale, fibril fields might be regenerated faster than they rise, the dissipative heating associated with such fields would in some cases greatly exceed the luminosity of the star. We show how these constraints combine to yield limits on the internal field strength and morphology in low-mass stars. In particular, we find that for stars of 0.3 solar masses, no fields in flux tubes stronger than about 800 kG are simultaneously consistent with both constraints.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, accepted to Ap

Acoustic interactions between an altitude test facility and jet engine plumes: Theory and experiments

The overall objective of the described effort was to develop an understanding of the physical mechanisms involved in the flow/acoustic interactions experienced in full-scale altitude engine test facilities. This is done by conducting subscale experiments and through development of a theoretical model. Model cold jet experiments with an axisymmetric convergent nozzle are performed in a test setup that stimulates a supersonic jet exhausting into a cylindrical diffuser. The measured data consist of detailed flow visualization data and acoustic spectra for a free and a ducted plume. It is shown that duct resonance is most likely responsible by theoretical calculations. Theoretical calculations also indicate that the higher discrete tones observed in the measurements are related to the screech phenomena. Limited experiments on the sensitivity of a free 2-D, C-D nozzle to externally imposed sound are also presented. It is shown that a 2-D, C-D nozzle with a cutback is less excitable than a 2-D C-D nozzle with no cutback. At a pressure ratio of 1.5 unsteady separation from the diverging walls of the nozzle is noticed. This separation switches from one wall to the opposite wall thus providing an unsteady deflection of the plume. It is shown that this phenomenon is related to the venting provided by the cutback section

The impacts of working with victims of sexual violence: a rapid evidence assessment

Aim: Supporting clients who have experienced trauma can lead to trauma symptoms in those working with them; workers in the sexual violence field are at heightened risks of these. This article collated and critically appraised papers, published from 2017 onward, in the area of people assisting victims of sexual violence. It explores the impacts and effects the work has on them, their coping and self-care mechanisms, and organizational support offered to them. Design: A question-based rapid evidence assessment with a triangulated weight of evidence approach was used. Academic and nonacademic databases were searched. Twenty-five papers were included for analysis based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results: Most studies were of medium to high methodological quality. Negative impacts included trauma symptoms, disrupted social relationships, behavioral changes, and emotional and psychological distress. Ability to manage negative impacts was influenced by overall organizational support, availability of training, supervision and guidance, workloads and caseload characteristics, individual characteristics, and their coping and self-care mechanisms. Positive impacts included empowering feelings, improved relationships, compassion satisfaction, and posttraumatic growth. Conclusions: Impacts are significant. Support at work and in personal life increases staff’s ability to cope and find meaning in their role. Implications for research and practice are discussed

The impacts of working with victims of sexual violence: A rapid evidence assessment

Aim: Supporting clients who have experienced trauma can lead to trauma symptoms in those working with them; workers in the sexual violence field are at heightened risks of these. This article collated and critically appraised papers, published from 2017 onward, in the area of people assisting victims of sexual violence. It explores the impacts and effects the work has on them, their coping and self-care mechanisms, and organizational support offered to them. Design: A question-based rapid evidence assessment with a triangulated weight of evidence approach was used. Academic and nonacademic databases were searched. Twenty-five papers were included for analysis based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results: Most studies were of medium to high methodological quality. Negative impacts included trauma symptoms, disrupted social relationships, behavioral changes, and emotional and psychological distress. Ability to manage negative impacts was influenced by overall organizational support, availability of training, supervision and guidance, workloads and caseload characteristics, individual characteristics, and their coping and self-care mechanisms. Positive impacts included empowering feelings, improved relationships, compassion satisfaction, and posttraumatic growth. Conclusions: Impacts are significant. Support at work and in personal life increases staff’s ability to cope and find meaning in their role. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Young people, sexuality and the age of pornography

Recently interest into the effects of pornography on children and young people’s sexual development has increased leading to an increase in studies in the area, laws being changed and public concern growing. This paper aims to recap these findings including more recent studies carried out in the UK. The literature shows links between viewing pornography and sexually explicit material and young people’s attitudes and behaviours. This suggests that young people’s sexuality is affected by sexual imagery and that this influences children and young people’s sexual attitudes and behaviours. The impact is contingent on the young person’s support network, social learning and other demographic factors, not least gender which has been consistently found to be significant. Recent studies have found changes in sexual practices of young people which are attributed to viewing pornography such as an increase in anal sex and casual attitudes to consent. Links between porn use and sexual coercion have also been found. How and in what ways children and young people are affected by such imagery - and what can be done to reduce the negative impact on young people is debated in the light of the gaps in the literature and the issues with the existing literature. Further need for study is discussed