Assessing Instrumental Weapons Violence against Teachers

Violence against teachers is a critical issue for learning communities. Among the most serious forms of harm include weapon violence. While there has been extensive research on weapon carrying and traditional weapon use within schools, there has been little investigation into instrumental weapon violence against teachers. The current study utilizes qualitative survey data to investigate contributing conditions related to teacher’s experiences of instrumental weapon’s violence through direct content analysis. Results from this study aim to expand our understanding of the nature and nuance of teacher-directed instrumental weapon violence

Developing an Undergraduate Community Psychology Program in a Graduate Institution

This article provides an overview of the undergraduate degree program in community psychology at DePaul University. The recommendation of an undergraduate student ignited latent student and faculty interest. A program-bigger than a course but smaller than a major-was developed in 2005-2006 and was first offered in 2006-2007. Subsequently, this Community Concentration has been well received by students and has grown to an enrollment of about 20-25 students annually (Glantsman, McMahon, & Njoku, 2015). Graduates have gone onto positions in community and public agencies, graduate school in community psychology and related fields, and other relevant contexts. We highlight the three primary phases in the history of the Community Concentration: (1) building upon a receptive institutional context, (2) creating the program, and (3) developing learning opportunities. For each phase we identify focal elements important to its success. We consider their transferability to other educational settings that include both undergraduate and graduate community psychology educational opportunities. We note the accomplishments, challenges and strengths of the program. Finally, we offer this case study to encourage faculty in other educational institutions to develop more and better learning opportunities for undergraduate students in community psychology

Involvement in Extracurricular Activities: Identifying Differences in Perceptions of School Climate

Many youth participate in extracurricular activities, and research has linked activity participation with school engagement and academic success. Social-ecological theory suggests that the social contexts of different types of extracurricular activities may differentially affect student outcomes. Yet, there is scant research examining the relation between various extracurricular activities and student outcomes. The current study seeks to address this gap by exploring how participation in three activities (sports, clubs, and arts), and combinations of these activities are associated with perceptions of school climate, using multilevel modelling. Participants included 15,004 high school students from 28 schools across 11 states in the United States. Findings suggest that students involved in extracurricular activities have more favourable perceptions of social-emotional security, adult support, student support, and school connectedness. However, these perceptions vary by activity type and combination, and do not appear to have a stacked effect in which involvement in more activities yields more favourable outcomes. We conclude that extracurricular activity participation may serve as a mechanism to promote a positive school climate. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Developing an Undergraduate Community Psychology Program in a Graduate Institution

This article provides an overview of the undergraduate degree program in community psychology at DePaul University. The recommendation of an undergraduate student ignited latent student and faculty interest. A program-bigger than a course but smaller than a major-was developed in 2005-2006 and was first offered in 2006-2007. Subsequently, this Community Concentration has been well received by students and has grown to an enrollment of about 20-25 students annually (Glantsman, McMahon, & Njoku, 2015). Graduates have gone onto positions in community and public agencies, graduate school in community psychology and related fields, and other relevant contexts. We highlight the three primary phases in the history of the Community Concentration: (1) building upon a receptive institutional context, (2) creating the program, and (3) developing learning opportunities. For each phase we identify focal elements important to its success. We consider their transferability to other educational settings that include both undergraduate and graduate community psychology educational opportunities. We note the accomplishments, challenges and strengths of the program. Finally, we offer this case study to encourage faculty in other educational institutions to develop more and better learning opportunities for undergraduate students in community psychology

Violence Prevention: An Evaluation of Program Effects with Urban African American Students

While many violence prevention programs have been developed to combat the problems of violence and aggression among youth, few programs have been evaluated. This study examines the impact of a violence prevention program among African American students in two inner-city schools in Chicago. Students in 5th through 8th grade participated in Second Step: A Violence Prevention Program , and completed surveys at pretest and posttest. Aggressive behavior and prosocial behavior were assessed through self-report, peer-report, and teacher-report. In addition, knowledge and skills related to violence, empathy, impulsivity, and sense of school membership were assessed. The findings revealed significant increases in self-reported knowledge and skills, self-reported empathy, and teacher-reported prosocial behavior. Increases in empathy significantly predicted less aggressive behavior. School setting influenced several outcomes, including sense of school membership. Implications for primary prevention and evaluation are discussed with a focus on the importance of context.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45096/1/10935_2004_Article_460825.pd

Predicting and Reducing Aggression and Violence Toward Teachers: Extent of the Problem and Why it Matters

Although violence prevention has largely focused on students, national and state-level studies suggest that teacher-directed violence warrants attention by researchers, policy makers, and school stakeholders. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the empirical literature on teacher-directed violence, including the extent of the problem, types of violence teachers experience, measurement issues, and how this problem varies across perpetrators and social contexts. We specify recommendations for assessment, including developing and using reliable and valid measures to better understand teachers\u27 experiences with violence. Violence prevention approaches are described, and we advocate for assessment and intervention that incorporate teacher experiences. Using a social-ecological model, we outline intervention strategies that address school violence that affects students, teachers, and administrators at the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem levels. Ultimately, we need to take the entire school ecology into account to reduce violence and create an effective teaching and learning environment where everyone feels safe

Sulfide Generation by Dominant Halanaerobium Microorganisms in Hydraulically Fractured Shales

Hydraulic fracturing of black shale formations has greatly increased United States oil and natural gas recovery. However, the accumulation of biomass in subsurface reservoirs and pipelines is detrimental because of possible well souring, microbially induced corrosion, and pore clogging. Temporal sampling of produced fluids from a well in the Utica Shale revealed the dominance of Halanaerobium strains within the in situ microbial community and the potential for these microorganisms to catalyze thiosulfate-dependent sulfidogenesis. From these field data, we investigated biogenic sulfide production catalyzed by a Halanaerobium strain isolated from the produced fluids using proteogenomics and laboratory growth experiments. Analysis of Halanaerobium isolate genomes and reconstructed genomes from metagenomic data sets revealed the conserved presence of rhodanese-like proteins and anaerobic sulfite reductase complexes capable of converting thiosulfate to sulfide. Shotgun proteomics measurements using a Halanaerobium isolate verified that these proteins were more abundant when thiosulfate was present in the growth medium, and culture-based assays identified thiosulfate-dependent sulfide production by the same isolate. Increased production of sulfide and organic acids during the stationary growth phase suggests that fermentative Halanaerobium uses thiosulfate to remove excess reductant. These findings emphasize the potential detrimental effects that could arise from thiosulfate-reducing microorganisms in hydraulically fractured shales, which are undetected by current industry-wide corrosion diagnostics. IMPORTANCE Although thousands of wells in deep shale formations across the United States have been hydraulically fractured for oil and gas recovery, the impact of microbial metabolism within these environments is poorly understood. Our research demonstrates that dominant microbial populations in these subsurface ecosystems contain the conserved capacity for the reduction of thiosulfate to sulfide and that this process is likely occurring in the environment. Sulfide generation (also known as “souring”) is considered deleterious in the oil and gas industry because of both toxicity issues and impacts on corrosion of the subsurface infrastructure. Critically, the capacity for sulfide generation via reduction of sulfate was not detected in our data sets. Given that current industry wellhead tests for sulfidogenesis target canonical sulfate-reducing microorganisms, these data suggest that new approaches to the detection of sulfide-producing microorganisms may be necessary

Marine ecosystem assessment for the Southern Ocean: birds and marine mammals in a changing climate

The massive number of seabirds (penguins and procellariiformes) and marine mammals (cetaceans and pinnipeds) – referred to here as top predators – is one of the most iconic components of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean. They play an important role as highly mobile consumers, structuring and connecting pelagic marine food webs and are widely studied relative to other taxa. Many birds and mammals establish dense breeding colonies or use haul-out sites, making them relatively easy to study. Cetaceans, however, spend their lives at sea and thus aspects of their life cycle are more complicated to monitor and study. Nevertheless, they all feed at sea and their reproductive success depends on the food availability in the marine environment, hence they are considered useful indicators of the state of the marine resources. In general, top predators have large body sizes that allow for instrumentation with miniature data-recording or transmitting devices to monitor their activities at sea. Development of scientific techniques to study reproduction and foraging of top predators has led to substantial scientific literature on their population trends, key biological parameters, migratory patterns, foraging and feeding ecology, and linkages with atmospheric or oceanographic dynamics, for a number of species and regions. We briefly summarize the vast literature on Southern Ocean top predators, focusing on the most recent syntheses. We also provide an overview on the key current and emerging pressures faced by these animals as a result of both natural and human causes. We recognize the overarching impact that environmental changes driven by climate change have on the ecology of these species. We also evaluate direct and indirect interactions between marine predators and other factors such as disease, pollution, land disturbance and the increasing pressure from global fisheries in the Southern Ocean. Where possible we consider the data availability for assessing the status and trends for each of these components, their capacity for resilience or recovery, effectiveness of management responses, risk likelihood of key impacts and future outlook