School age bullying : the victim\u27s point of view

Bullying is a common problem in schools across the world including in the United States. This paper focuses on the problem of bullying from the victim\u27s point of view. Bullying can be defined in a variety of different ways and occurs in a variety of different situations. Victims of bullies suffer from a wide variety of academic, social, behavioral, and emotional problems. A comprehensive approach that includes school counselors, teachers, administrators, and parents is needed to combat bullying within the school. Bully prevention and intervention programs can help victims more effectively if they change their orientation from focusing on the bully to focusing on the bully and the victim

Nontrivial features in the speed of sound inside neutron stars

Measurements of neutron star masses, radii, and tidal deformability have direct connections to nuclear physics via the equation of state (EoS), which for the cold, catalyzed matter in neutron star cores is commonly represented as the pressure as a function of energy density. Microscopic models with exotic degrees of freedom display nontrivial structure in the speed of sound ($c_s$) in the form of first-order phase transitions and bumps, oscillations, and plateaus in the case of crossovers and higher-order phase transitions. We present a procedure based on Gaussian processes to generate an ensemble of EoSs that include nontrivial features. Using a Bayesian analysis incorporating measurements from X-ray sources, gravitational wave observations, and perturbative QCD results, we show that these features are compatible with current constraints. We investigate the possibility of a global maximum in $c_s$ that occurs within the densities realized in neutron stars -- implying a softening of the EoS and possibly an exotic phase in the core of massive stars -- and find that such a global maximum is consistent with, but not required by, current constraints.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figure

Searching for phase transitions in neutron stars with modified Gaussian processes

Gaussian processes provide a promising framework by which to extrapolate the equation of state (EoS) of cold, catalyzed matter beyond $1-2$ times nuclear saturation density. Here we discuss how to extend Gaussian processes to include nontrivial features in the speed of sound, such as bumps, kinks, and plateaus, which are predicted by nuclear models with exotic degrees of freedom. Using a fully Bayesian analysis incorporating measurements from X-ray sources, gravitational wave observations, and perturbative QCD results, we show that these features are compatible with current constraints and report on how the features affect the EoS posteriors.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, CSQCD IX proceeding

Parents’ Pandemic NICU Experience in the United States: A Qualitative Study

Background Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) frequently reported high levels of stress, uncertainty, and decreased parenting confidence. Early research has demonstrated that parents have had less access to their infants in the hospital due to restrictions on parental presence secondary to the pandemic. It is unknown how parents have perceived their experiences in the NICU since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of parents who had an infant in the NICU in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform healthcare providers and policy makers for future development of policies and care planning. Methods The study design was a qualitative description of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents’ experiences of having an infant in the NICU. Free-text responses to open-ended questions were collected as part of a multi-method study of parents’ experiences of the NICU during the first six months of the pandemic. Participants from the United States were recruited using social media platforms between the months of May and July of 2020. Data were analyzed using a reflexive thematic approach. Findings Free-text responses came from 169 parents from 38 different states in the United States. Three broad themes emerged from the analysis: (1) parents’ NICU experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic were emotionally isolating and overwhelming, (2) policy changes restricting parental presence created disruptions to the family unit and limited family-centered care, and (3) interactions with NICU providers intensified or alleviated emotional distress felt by parents. A unifying theme of experiences of emotional distress attributed to COVID-19 circumstances ran through all three themes. Conclusions Parents of infants in the NICU during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced emotional struggles, feelings of isolation, lack of family-centered care, and deep disappointment with system-level decisions. Moving forward, parents need to be considered essential partners in the development of policies concerning care of and access to their infants. Background The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented conditions for administrators and clinicians working in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and greatly affected parents of infants requiring hospitalization. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of infants admitted to a NICU reported high levels of stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and decreased parenting confidence when compared to parents of healthy full-term infants [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Approximately 28–40% of mothers of infants admitted to a NICU were diagnosed with a new mental illness, such as depression or perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder [7]. Fathers of infants requiring NICU hospitalization also reported significant stress and need for reassurance and support [8, 9]

Inside TENT

A prototype zine researched and designed for the Toronto Fringe Festival that showcases the impact of the Theatre Entrepreneurs\u27 Networking and Training program. The zine is a major output from “Mobilizing Social Innovation to Train the Next Generation of Theatre Entrepreneurs,” a multi-year collaboration funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada via the College and Community Social Innovation Fund.https://source.sheridancollege.ca/fhass_creativehumanities/1003/thumbnail.jp

Additional conference abstracts

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43490/1/11111_2005_Article_BF02208413.pd

Transforming the Healthcare Response to Intimate Partner Violence and Taking Best Practices to Scale

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent among adolescent and adult women, with significant physical, sexual, and mental health consequences. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine\u27s Clinical Preventive Services for Women consensus report recommended universal screening for violence as a component of women\u27s preventive services; this policy has been adopted by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). These policy developments require that effective clinic-based interventions be identified, easily implemented, and taken to scale. METHODS: To foster dialogue about implementing effective interventions, we convened a symposium entitled Responding to Violence Against Women: Emerging Evidence, Implementation Science, and Innovative Interventions, on May 21, 2012. Drawing on multidisciplinary expertise, the agenda integrated data on the prevalence and health impact of IPV violence, with an overview of the implementation science framework, and a panel of innovative IPV screening interventions. Recommendations were generated for developing, testing, and implementing clinic-based interventions to reduce violence and mitigate its health impact. RESULTS: The strength of evidence supporting specific IPV screening interventions has improved, but the optimal implementation and dissemination strategies are not clear. Implementation science, which seeks to close the evidence to program gap, is a useful framework for improving screening and intervention uptake and ensuring the translation of research findings into routine practice. CONCLUSIONS: Findings have substantial relevance to the broader research, clinical, and practitioner community. Our conference proceedings fill a timely gap in knowledge by informing practitioners as they strive to implement universal IPV screening and guiding researchers as they evaluate the success of implementing IPV interventions to improve women\u27s health and well-being

Measuring the HIV Care Continuum Using Public Health Surveillance Data in the United States

The HIV care continuum is a critical framework for situational awareness of the HIV epidemic, yet challenges to accurate enumeration of continuum components hamper continuum estimation in practice. We describe local, surveillance-based estimation of the HIV continuum in the United States, reviewing common practices as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Furthermore, we review some challenges and biases likely to threaten existing continuum estimates. Current estimates rely heavily on the use of CD4 cell count and HIV viral load laboratory results reported to surveillance programs as a proxy for receipt of HIV-related outpatient care. As such, continuum estimates are susceptible to bias due to incomplete laboratory reporting and imperfect sensitivity and specificity of laboratory tests as a proxy for routine HIV care. Migration of HIV-infected persons between jurisdictions also threatens the validity of continuum estimates. Data triangulation may improve but not fully alleviate biases

‘Get yourself some nice, neat, matching box files’: research administrators and occupational identity work

To date, qualitative research into occupational groups and cultures within academia has been relatively scarce, with an almost exclusive concentration upon teaching staff within universities and colleges. This article seeks to address this lacuna and applies the interactionist concept of ‘identity work’ in order to examine one specific group to date under-researched: graduate research administrators. This occupational group is of sociological interest as many of its members appear to span the putative divide between ‘academic’ and ‘administrative’ occupational worlds within higher education. An exploratory, qualitative research project was undertaken, based upon interviews with 27 research administrators. The study analyses how research administrators utilise various forms of identity work to sustain credible occupational identities, often in the face of considerable challenge from their academic colleagues

Risky bodies, risky spaces, maternal ‘instincts’: swimming and motherhood

Swimming and aquatic activity are fields in which gendered, embodied identities are brought to the fore, and the co-presence of other bodies can have a significant impact upon lived experiences. To date, however, there has been little research on sport and physical cultures that investigates how meanings associated with space impact upon women’s embodied experiences of participating in swimming, specifically in the presence of their young children. Using semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations, this qualitative study employed a Foucauldian-feminist framework to explore self-perceptions and embodied experiences of aquatic activity amongst 20 women, who were swimming with children aged under 4. Results highlight that through ‘felt’ maternal responsibilities, the co-presence of babies’ and children’s bodies shifted women’s intentionality away from the self towards their child. Mothers’ embodied experiences were grounded in perceptions of space-specific ‘maternal instincts’ and focused upon disciplining their children’s bodies in the lived-space of the swimming pool. Key findings cohere around mothers’ felt concerns about hygiene, water temperature and safety, and elements of intercorporeality and ‘somatic empathy’