Staff experience of harassment and stalking behaviour by patients

Staff from one National Health Service (NHS) Trust in England completed an online survey (N = 590) about their experience of intrusive behaviours from patients. These experiences were categorised into either stalking or harassment and compared in terms of staff and patient characteristics, types of intrusions, and aftermath. Overall, 150 were classified as being stalked (25.4%) and 172 harassed (29.2%). There were no differences in staff characteristics between the two groups. Staff from forensic services and nursing staff were particularly susceptible to these intrusions which took many forms. Respondents perceived a range of causes for the stalking and harassment, the most common being to gain power and control/to scare. It was rare for legal sanctions to be brought against the patient. Our findings reinforce the need for service providers to have policies supported with preventative measures, education and a robust process for addressing stalking so that these measures are embedded in practice in a way that supports staff working with patients. Furthermore, service providers should be challenged on what steps they have taken to prevent, and monitor, such behaviour

The influence of contextual information regarding the breakdown of relationships and perpetrator-target sex composition on perceptions of relational stalking

The present study examines the influence of prior relationship (with contextual information regarding the breakdown of the relationship) and perpetrator-target sex composition on perceptions of relational stalking. The study employed an experimental 7 × 2 independent measures design, and the sample comprised 1,260 members of the community residing in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Participants received one of 14 versions of a hypothetical scenario and responded to scale items concerning the situation described. The situation was perceived to be most serious when the perpetrator was a stranger or a physically violent ex-partner and least serious when the perpetrator was an ex-partner of an unfaithful target. Scenarios involving a male perpetrator and a female victim were also perceived to be more serious than scenarios involving a female perpetrator and a male target. It is apparent therefore that the context of the relationship breakdown and the sex of the perpetrator and target significantly influence perceptions of relational stalking

Electronic and magnetic structure of epitaxial Fe3O4(001)/NiO heterostructures grown on MgO(001) and Nb-doped SrTiO3(001)

Kuepper K, Kuschel O, Pathé N, et al. Electronic and magnetic structure of epitaxial Fe3O4(001)/NiO heterostructures grown on MgO(001) and Nb-doped SrTiO3(001). Physical Review B. 2016;94(2): 024401.We study the underlying chemical, electronic, and magnetic properties of a number of magnetite-based thin films. The main focus is placed onto Fe3O4(001)/NiO bilayers grown on MgO(001) and Nb-SrTiO3(001) substrates. We compare the results with those obtained on pure Fe3O4(001) thin films. It is found that the magnetite layers are oxidized and Fe3+ dominates at the surfaces due to maghemite (γ−Fe2O3) formation, which decreases with increasing magnetite layer thickness. For layer thicknesses of around 20 nm and above, the cationic distribution is close to that of stoichiometric Fe3O4. At the interface between NiO and Fe3O4 we find the Ni to be in a divalent valence state, with unambiguous spectral features in the Ni 2p core level x-ray photoelectron spectra typical for NiO. The formation of a significant NiFe2O4 interlayer can be excluded by means of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements reveal significant higher coercive fields compared to magnetite thin films grown on MgO(001), and an altered in-plane easy axis pointing in the ⟨100⟩ direction. We discuss the spin magnetic moments of the magnetite layers and find that a thickness of 20 nm or above leads to spin magnetic moments close to that of bulk magnetite