Bill McClanahan (2023) Visual Criminology. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press

Kajsa Lundberg reviews Visual Criminology by Bill McClanaha

Victoria Canning and Steve Tombs (2021) From Social Harm to Zemiology: A Critical Introduction. Routledge

Kajsa Lundberg reviews From Social Harm to Zemiology: A Critical Introductio

Skamhantering: en analys av skolmedling som konfliktlösningsmetod

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka skolmedling som ett verktyg för konflikthantering utifrån ett emotionssociologiskt perspektiv. Jag vill skapa förståelse för hur skam tar sig uttryck i skolmedlingen och vilken funktion denna skam kan fylla. De frågeställningar jag besvarar är: om och på vilket sätt kan skolmedling skapa ett sammanhang som erbjuder individen möjlighet att hantera skam? Om och på vilket sätt kan den skamhantering som sker under skolmedlingen leda till förlåtelse och återintegrering, så som medlare och elever beskriver det? För att besvara mina frågeställningar har jag genomfört intervjuer med medlare och elever. Jag har också observerat två förmöten, en huvudmedling och en eftermedling. Jag har förhållit mig delvis kritisk mot medlingsteori och identifierat ett antal problem i medlingens praktik. Ett framträdande resultat av studien gäller den sociala process i vilken konflikten definieras under medlingen och hur denna definition blir avgörande för ansvarstagande, skamhantering och förlåtelse. Två problem angående ursäkter som riskerar att urholka betydelsen av medlingen har observerats: att ursäkter ges utan verkligt ansvarstagande och ursäkten som en del i en ”gåvo-process”. Jag har identifierat ett antal strategier elever kan använda för att undvika skam. Slutligen har jag fastställt tre svåra balansgångar som medlaren står inför: att påföra ansvar och skam utan att dessa överdrivs, att framstå som objektiv samtidigt som felaktigt beteende fördöms och att ta ansvar för medlingen samtidigt som medlingen förväntas vara elevernas ansvar

Tillsammans: men varför? En kvantitativ studie om parrelationer.

Imagine not being able to choose who you are going to be in an intimate relationship with. It used to be like that but the situation has changed - these days we have a lot of different options available to choose for ourselves how to live our lives. We have a lot of different ways to influence how we want to live our lives and with whom we want to share them with. The aim of this study was to examine how individuals feel about their relationship and why they choose to stay in a relationship with their current partner. How do individuals in a relationship feel about aspects including for example conflicts, communication and trust? Is Anthony Giddens theory about the pure relationship applicable on relationships today? To find the answers to these questions we made a quantitative study and used a questionnaire to collect empirical data. In total 139 people took part in this survey. The main result of this study shows that most of the participants are satisfied with their relationship. This study also came to the conclusion that the elements that Giddens describes as a part of a pure relationship are applicable to our participants. Communication, trust and intimacy were according to the participants some of the essential elements in a satisfying relationship

Shaping the techno-social landscape of corrections: How values, technology, and culture influence the design of correctional service delivery applications

Over the past decade, a variety of digital platforms have emerged to deliver core correctional services. Understanding the challenges and drivers of correctional agencies’ digitalisation helps us to understand the processes that shape these technologies and their impact on correctional environments and practices. To bridge this gap, we conducted interviews with 26 software developers and other stakeholders involved in the digitalisation of corrections, aiming to explore the challenges encountered in designing and implementing digital service delivery technologies for correctional services. Our findings shed light on some key challenges faced by software developers and other stakeholders involved in the design process, including institutional culture, justice system bureaucracy, and public perceptions. These challenges significantly influence design processes and the availability of digital products for end users. They shape the techno-social landscape of correctional agencies and contribute to the dominance or absence of certain digital platforms or artefacts

Tender, Love and care

Sammendrag Bakgrunn Trykksår defineres som sårdannelse og iskemisk nekrose i hud og eventuell underliggende vev som har vært utsatt for et så langvarig trykk at blodsirkulasjonen har blitt komprimert. Det er en tilstand som er vanlig å møte i det norske helsevesenet idag og som kan medføre store plager for de pasienter som rammes. Da vi ut fra egen erfaring vet at det rettes lite fokus på trykksårsproblematikken på sykehjem idag, ønsker vi med denne oppgaven å kvalitetsforbedre det forebyggende arbeidet i forhold til trykksår. Som utgangspunkt har vi valgt en fiktiv sykehjemsavdeling som vårt mikrosystem, da det viste seg vanskelig å fokusere på et spesifikt sykehjem i området. Vi mener dette er et område med stor potensiale til kvalitetsforbedring og at dette er et tema som bør belyses da trykksår kan lede til konsekvensener for både den enkelte pasienten og for samfunnet. Kunnskapsgrunnlag Vårt kunnskapsgrunnlag er basert på søk i databasene Clinical Evidence, Up To Date, Cochrane Library og PubMed. Vi har dessuten vært i kontakt med et flertall sykehjem i Oslo-området via telefon, samt fått lov å besøke et sykehjem i Oslo for å få ytterligere informasjon om temaet. Vi har i vårt arbeide vært interessert i å finne kunnskap om trykksår og forebygging, samt kunnskap om effekten av bruk av sjekklister i praksis. Begrunnet tiltak og metode Vi har fokusert på identifisering av risikopasienter og deretter et forebyggende tiltak hos de utsatte pasientene. Når det gjelder forebygging av trykksår er det mange tiltak som har vist seg effektive. For å begrense vårt tiltak har vi valgt ut reposisjonering av pasienter og kontroll av huden, som er to enkle og gjennomførbare tiltak for å forebygge trykksår. Vi ønsker å implementere bruk av Norton-scale for risikoidentifisering samt registrering av reposisjonering og kontroll av huden med hjelp av en sjekkliste hos de pasienter med økt risiko for trykksår. Organisering Ved implementering av vårt forbedringsarbeid må ledelsen ved sykehjemsavdeligen involveres. Vi vil arrangere innføringsmøter for de ulike faggruppene. Avdelingssykepleie

Wellness through a comprehensive Yogic breathing program – A controlled pilot trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing rates of psychosocial disturbances give rise to increased risks and vulnerability for a wide variety of stress-related chronic pain and other illnesses. Relaxation exercises aim at reducing stress and thereby help prevent these unwanted outcomes. One of the widely used relaxation practices is yoga and yogic breathing exercises. One specific form of these exercises is Sudarshan Kriya and related practices (SK&P) which are understood to have favourable effects on the mind-body system. The goal of this pilot study was to design a protocol that can investigate whether SK&P can lead to increased feeling of wellness in healthy volunteers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were recruited in a small university city in Sweden and were instructed in a 6-day intensive program of SK&P which they practiced daily for six weeks. The control group was instructed to relax in an armchair each day during the same period. Subjects included a total of 103 adults, 55 in the intervention (SK&P) group and 48 in the control group. Various instruments were administered before and after the intervention. Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale measured the degree of anxiety and depression, Life Orientation Test measured dispositional optimism, Stress and Energy Test measured individual's energy and stress experiences. Experienced Deviation from Normal State measured the experience of altered state of consciousness.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no safety issues. Compliance was high (only 1 dropout in the SK&P group, and 5 in the control group). Outcome measures appeared to be appropriate for assessing the differences between the groups. Subjective reports generally correlated with the findings from the instruments. The data suggest that participants in the SK&P group, but not the control group, lowered their degree of anxiety, depression and stress, and also increased their degree of optimism (ANOVA; p < 0.001). The participants in the yoga group experienced the practices as a positive event that induced beneficial effects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data indicate that the experimental protocol that is developed here is safe, compliance level is good, and a full scale trial is feasible. The data obtained suggest that adult participants may improve their wellness by learning and applying a program based on yoga and yogic breathing exercises; this can be conclusively assessed in a large-scale trial.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Australian Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN012607000175471.</p

Murine Polyomavirus Virus-Like Particles Carrying Full-Length Human PSA Protect BALB/c Mice from Outgrowth of a PSA Expressing Tumor

Virus-like particles (VLPs) consist of capsid proteins from viruses and have been shown to be usable as carriers of protein and peptide antigens for immune therapy. In this study, we have produced and assayed murine polyomavirus (MPyV) VLPs carrying the entire human Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) (PSA-MPyVLPs) for their potential use for immune therapy in a mouse model system. BALB/c mice immunized with PSA-MPyVLPs were only marginally protected against outgrowth of a PSA-expressing tumor. To improve protection, PSA-MPyVLPs were co-injected with adjuvant CpG, either alone or loaded onto murine dendritic cells (DCs). Immunization with PSA-MPyVLPs loaded onto DCs in the presence of CpG was shown to efficiently protect mice from tumor outgrowth. In addition, cellular and humoral immune responses after immunization were examined. PSA-specific CD4+ and CD8+ cells were demonstrated, but no PSA-specific IgG antibodies. Vaccination with DCs loaded with PSA-MPyVLPs induced an eight-fold lower titre of anti-VLP antibodies than vaccination with PSA-MPyVLPs alone. In conclusion, immunization of BALB/c mice with PSA-MPyVLPs, loaded onto DCs and co-injected with CpG, induces an efficient PSA-specific tumor protective immune response, including both CD4+ and CD8+ cells with a low induction of anti-VLP antibodies

On immunotherapy against prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Swedish men, with an incidence of around 9000 cases per year, and the main cause of cancer related death. Standard treatment includes surgery, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy. However, once the PC becomes androgen independent and metastatic there are currently no curative treatments available. Cancer immunotherapy, i.e. the activation of the body s own immune system to fight cancer, represents a promising approach investigated in this thesis. We demonstrate that CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells are present in higher frequencies in peripheral blood and tumors of early stage PC patients undergoing prostatectomy, in comparison to healthy donors and benign prostate. These cells were further shown to suppress the proliferation of CD4+CD25- T cells in vitro. Our results suggest that the presence of regulatory T cells in the prostate microenvironment might hamper the desired effects of immunotherapy and therefore, inhibition of such cells could enhance anti-tumor immune responses. In preparation for a clinical trial to evaluate a xenogenic DNA vaccine encoding rhesus macaque PSA, we modified by a single amino acid substitution a PSA epitope exhibiting three important properties; high HLA-A*0201 affinity, ability to induce CD8+ human T cell responses in all subjects tested in vitro as well as being naturally processed and presented. Finally, wegenerated a transgenic mouse, expressing human PSA (hPSA) confined to the prostate. Detailed characterization revealed that this mouse does not reject PSA expressing tumors when vaccinated with hPSA plasmid by the intramuscular route, indicating presence of peripheral tolerance to PSA. However, we show that intradermal administration of PSA plasmid in combination with electroporation induces a potent T cell response, resulting not only in infiltration of the healthy prostate, but also the ability to eliminate PSA expressing tumor cells after in vivo challenge

Assessment in visual arts education

Bedömning i bild är något som vi som lärarstudenter ofta brottats med, därför har vi valt att undersöka och sammanställa forskning från fältet som kan svara på frågeställningen “Vad finns det för forskning om bedömning i bildämnet?” och som kan relateras till och stödja oss i vår kommande yrkesprofession som bildlärare. Materialet är insamlat systematiskt genom sökningar på tre databaser och har genom urvalsprocesser resulterat i tio valda artiklar som utgör kunskapsöversiktens resultat. Bildämnet är mångsidigt och innehåller komplexa kvaliteter och icke-verbala aspekter som påverkar bedömning. I en svensk skolkontext påverkar också undervisningsvillkoren, skilda ämneskonceptioner och subjektiva förhållningssätt bedömningen. Portföljmetodik och visuella rubriker är möjliga verktyg som kan underlätta bedömning i ämnet. Formativ bedömning och dess kommunikativa aspekter är viktiga komponenter i bildundervisning för elevers kunskapsutveckling. Professionella bedömningspraktiker i bildämnet kan nås genom fler kollegiala samtal och samarbeten samt ett ökat fokus på bedömning för bildlärarstudenter under lärarutbildningen i Sverige.