Cyber-bullying: The irish experience

Good indications as to the incidence rates concerning bullying, aggressive behaviour and violence in schools have been developed both in Ireland (Minton & O’ Moore, 2008; O’ Moore, Kirkham & Smith, 1997; O’ Moore & Minton, 2003) and internationally (see Smith, 2003; Smith et al., 1999, for reviews). However, very few empirically-based surveys of cyber-bullying (Li, 2006; Smith et al., 2006; Vandebosch et al., 2006) have been conducted (Minton, 2008). The present chapter will report on a study of 2, 794 students from eight post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland (the entire student body of the first, second, third and fourth years - ca. 12 - 16 years of age) who completed a specially-designed 38-item questionnaire, administered according to standardised instructions by class teachers in normal school time. Across the sample, around one in seven students reported having been cyber-bullied over the past couple of months, and around one in eleven reported having taken part in the cyber-bullying of others at school within the past couple of months. Incidence rates of having been subjected to and having perpetrated sub-categories of cyber-bullying were also obtained (text message bullying, the sending of pictures and video clips via mobile telephones, threatening calls, e-mails, Instant Messages, and abuse via the Internet (social networking sites and chat rooms) were also obtained. In many sub-categories of cyber-abuse (see below) the incidence rates were slightly higher amongst girls than they were amongst boys. A further finding was that the use of social networking Internet sites was very frequent, with over three-quarters of the sample having used Bebo and You Tube within the past couple of months. Few people who had been cyber-bullied (about 6 per cent) reported it to adults at school; they were over twice as likely to do nothing at all, five times more likely to send an angry message back, and five times more likely to talk to a friend. The findings confirm that the incidence of cyber-bullying amongst post-primary students in schools in Ireland is significant, and that its seriousness as an issue should not be underestimated

Hope and the therapeutic relationship: An 'interactive dance'

Within psychotherapy research there is a general consensus on the important role that clients’ hope plays in successful therapeutic outcomes. However little is known about how practitioner psychologists understand and experience their own hope in their clinical practice. It is anticipated that focusing on this under-researched phenomenon will provide initial insight into the role that their hope plays in their work with corresponding implications for practice. This research study investigated practitioner psychologists’ understanding and experience of their own hope in their clinical work. It employed an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology with semi-structured interviews used as the means of data collection. Eight qualified practitioner psychologists (six counselling, two clinical) were interviewed, with the transcripts of their interviews analysed in accordance with the IPA method. Three master themes emerged from the data: Making sense of hope, which explores the participants’ attempts at articulating their understanding and experience of hope in their clinical work; hope is intrinsic, which explores the innate and essential role that the participants’ hope plays in their work; and Responsibility towards hope, which explores the responsibility that participants felt towards sustaining hope. The themes were explored and interpreted using the extant literature on hope. Accounts of the participants’ understanding and experience of hope are presented. The findings suggest a number of implications for the practice of counselling psychology and the wellbeing of counselling psychologists. These include the understanding of the therapeutic relationship as a key source of psychologist hope, the necessity of the psychologist having hope to engage in clinical work and the importance of the psychologist aligning their hopes to their clients’. The findings are discussed as well as limitations of the study and suggestions for future research

Primary schools and the amplification of social differences in child mental health:a population-based cohort study

Funding The study was funded by the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre. LM is supported by the Farr Institute @ Scotland, which is supported by a 10-funder consortium: Arthritis Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Health Research, the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (Welsh Assembly Government), the Chief Scientist Office (Scottish Government Health Directorates), (MRC Grant No: MR/K007017/1). LM sits in the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy, which is funded by MRC grant MR/K023209/1. Competing interests None declared. Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed. Data sharing statement Data are owned by Glasgow City Council Education Services and are not currently publicly available.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Vulnerability to bullying in children with a history of specific speech and language difficulties

This is an electronic version of an article published in Lindsay, Geoff and Dockrell, Julie and Mackie, Clare (2008) Vulnerability to bullying in children with a history of specific speech and language difficulties. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23 (1). pp. 1-16. European Journal of Special Needs Education is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/0885625070179120

Routine testing for blood-borne viruses in prisons: a systematic review

Background: People in prison have a higher burden of blood-borne virus (BBV) infection than the general population, and prisons present an opportunity to test for BBVs in high-risk, underserved groups. Changes to the BBV testing policies in English prisons have recently been piloted. This review will enable existing evidence to inform policy revisions. We describe components of routine HIV, hepatitis B and C virus testing policies in prisons and quantify testing acceptance, coverage, result notification and diagnosis. Methods: We searched five databases for studies of both opt-in (testing offered to all and the individual chooses to have the test or not) and opt-out (the individual is informed the test will be performed unless they actively refuse) prison BBV testing policies. Results: Forty-four studies published between 1989 and 2013 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 82% were conducted in the USA, 91% included HIV testing and most tested at the time of incarceration. HIV testing acceptance rates ranged from 22 to 98% and testing coverage from 3 to 90%. Mixed results were found for equity in uptake. Six studies reported reasons for declining a test including recent testing and fear. Conclusions: While the quality of evidence is mixed, this review suggests that reasonable rates of uptake can be achieved with opt-in and, even better, with opt-out HIV testing policies. Little evidence was found relating to hepatitis testing. Policies need to specify exclusion criteria and consider consent processes, type of test and timing of the testing offer to balance acceptability, competence and availability of individuals

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Related Pathways in Hemato-Lymphoid Malignancies

Angiogenesis is essential for malignant tumor growth. This has been documented for solid tumors, and there is an emerging evidence suggesting that tumor progression of hematolymphoid malignancies also depends on the induction of new blood vessel formation. The most important proangiogenic agent is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), activating VEGF receptors 1 and 2. The available data on angiogenesis in hemato-lymphoid malignancies, such as acute leukemias, myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative neoplasms, multiple myeloma, and lymphomas, point towards the significance of autocrine and paracrine VEGF-mediated effects for proliferation and survival of leukemia/lymphoma cells in addition to tumor vascularization. Antiangiogenic strategies have become an important therapeutic modality for solid tumors. Several antiangiogenic agents targeting VEGF-related pathways are also being utilized in clinical trials for the treatment of hemato-lymphoid malignancies, and in some instances these pathways have emerged as promising therapeutic targets. This review summarizes recent advances in the basic understanding of the role of angiogenesis in hemato-lymphoid malignancies and the translation of such basic findings into clinical studies

Impact of fly ash content and fly ash transportation distance on embodied greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption in concrete

Background, aim and scope Fly ash, a by-product of coal-fired power stations, is substituted for Portland cement to improve the properties of concrete and reduce the embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Much of the world's fly ash is currently disposed of as a waste product. While replacing some Portland cement with fly ash can reduce production costs and the embodied emissions of concrete, the relationship between fly ash content and embodied GHG emissions in concrete has not been quantified. The impact of fly ash content on embodied water is also unknown. Furthermore, it is not known whether a global trade in fly ash for use in concrete is feasible from a carbon balance perspective, or if transport over long distances would eliminate any CO(2) savings. This paper aims to quantify GHG emissions and water embodied in concrete (f'(c)= 32 MPa) as a function of fly ash content and to determine the critical fly ash transportation distance, beyond which use of fly ash in concrete increases embodied GHG emissions

Implementation of novel and conventional outbreak control measures in managing COVID-19 outbreaks in a large UK prison

Background Outbreak control measures during COVID-19 outbreaks in a large UK prison consisted of standard (e.g., self-isolation) and novel measures, including establishment of: (i) reverse cohorting units for accommodating new prison admissions; (ii) protective isolation unit for isolating symptomatic prisoners, and (iii) a shielding unit to protect medically vulnerable prisoners. Methods Single-centre prospective longitudinal study (outbreak control study), implementing novel and traditional outbreak control measures to prevent a SARS-COV-2 outbreak. The prison held 977 prisoners and employed 910 staff at that start of the outbreak. Results 120 probable and 25 confirmed cases among prisoners and staff were recorded between March and June 2020 during the first outbreak. Over 50% of initial cases among prisoners were on the two wings associated with the index case. During the second outbreak, 182 confirmed cases were recorded after probable reintroduction from a staff member. Widespread testing identified 145 asymptomatic prisoners, 16.9% of the total prisoner cases. The cohorting units prevented re-infection from new prison admissions and the shielding unit had no COVID-19 infections linked to either outbreak. Conclusions Identifying and isolating infected prisoners, cohorting new admissions and shielding vulnerable individuals helped prevent uncontrollable spread of SARS-COV-2. These novel and cost-effective approaches can be implemented in correctional facilities globally