The Wellbeing of UK Police: A Study of Recorded Absences from Work of UK Police Employees Due to Psychological Illness and Stress Using Freedom of Information Act Data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Cartwright ◽  
Jason Roach
Keyword(s):  
Road Traffic ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Potentially Traumatic Events ◽  
The Past ◽  
Leave Of Absence ◽  
Absence Rate

Abstract Policing is undoubtedly a dangerous occupation whereby officers are routinely exposed to dangerous and potentially traumatic events, such as attending road traffic collisions, informing people of the death of a loved one, and ensuring public safety at football matches. Frontline policing is of course not the only place whereby constant exposure to dangerous and distressing incidents can increase the risk of police employees developing emotional and psychological complaints that have serious effects on their ‘wellbeing’, with previous research identifying specific policing areas such as homicide investigation as likely to have negative effects on those doing the investigating. Although to date, research has focused on the wellbeing effects of ‘routine policing’, criminal investigation, and specific events, as yet little is known about the effect on UK police employees wellbeing of ‘doing the job’ in terms of the number of days recorded as absent due to psychological illness, trauma, and stress. This study seeks to redress this gap by analysing sickness absence data recorded for 20 UK Police services for the past 10 years, obtained under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The data set represents some 57% of UK police personnel, and findings suggest that police employee absence due to psychological ill health, trauma, and stress had nearly doubled in the past 10 years to an absence rate of 8.82%. Furthermore, this study found that 39% of those who take a first leave of absence due to mental ill health go on to take further absences from work.

The Impact of War on Population Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Turkan Ahmet
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
The Impact

The past few decades of ongoing war in Iraq has had a dramatic impact on the health of Iraq’s population. Wars are known to have negative effects on the social and physical environments of individuals, as well as limit their access to the available health care services. This paper explores the personal experiences of my family members, who were exposed to war, as well as includes information that has been reviewed form many academic sources. The data aided in providing recommendations and developing strategies, on both local and international levels, to improve the health status of the populations exposed to war.

Sexual harassment and psychological complaints: student- and class-level associations

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Brolin Låftman ◽  
Y Bjereld ◽  
B Modin ◽  
P Löfstedt
Keyword(s):  
School Climate ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
School Class ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
The Past ◽  
Class Level ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Background Students who are subjected to sexual harassment at school report lower psychological well-being than those who are not exposed. Yet, it is possible that the occurrence of sexual harassment in the school class is stressful also for those who are not directly targeted, with potential negative effects on well-being for all students. The aim was to examine whether sexual harassment at the student- and at the class-level was associated with students' psychological complaints. Methods Data from the Swedish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) of 2017/18 was used, with information from students aged 11, 13 and 15 years (n = 3,720 distributed across 209 classes). Psychological complaints were constructed as a summative index of four items capturing how often the student had felt low, felt irritable or bad tempered, felt nervous, or had difficulties to fall asleep, during the past six months (Cronbach's alpha=0.78). Sexual harassment at the student-level was measured by one item concerning bullying at school: “Other students have exposed me to sexual jokes”. Students who reported that this had happened at least “2 or 3 times a month” were classified as exposed to sexual harassment at school. Sexual harassment at the class-level was defined as the school class proportion of students exposed to sexual harassment, reported in per cent. Two-level linear regression analysis was applied. Results Students who had been exposed to sexual harassment had higher levels of psychological complaints (b = 2.74, p < 0.001). The proportion of students in the school class who had been exposed to sexual harassment was also associated with higher levels of psychological complaints, even when adjusting for sexual harassment at the student-level, gender and grade (b = 0.03, p = 0.015). Conclusions Sexual harassment is harmful for those who are exposed, but may also affect other students negatively. Thus, a school climate free from sexual harassment will profit all students. Key messages Using data collected among students aged 11, 13 and 15 years, this study showed that sexual harassment at the student- and class-level was associated with higher levels of psychological complaints. Sexual harassment is harmful for those who are exposed, but may also affect other students negatively. Thus, a school climate free from sexual harassment will profit all students.

scholarly journals Change in mean and extreme temperature at Yingkou station in Northeast China from 1904 to 2017

2021 ◽  
Vol 164 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoying Xue ◽  
Guoyu Ren ◽  
Xiubao Sun ◽  
Panfeng Zhang ◽  
Yuyu Ren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northeast China ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Past ◽  
Significant Downward Trend ◽  
Cold Events ◽  
Temperature Indices ◽  
Increasing Trends ◽  
Change In Mean

AbstractThe understanding of centennial trends of extreme temperature has been impeded due to the lack of early-year observations. In this paper, we collect and digitize the daily temperature data set of Northeast China Yingkou meteorological station since 1904. After quality control and homogenization, we analyze the changes of mean and extreme temperature in the past 114 years. The results show that mean temperature (Tmean), maximum temperature (Tmax), and minimum temperature (Tmin) all have increasing trends during 1904–2017. The increase of Tmin is the most obvious with the rate of 0.34 °C/decade. The most significant warming occurs in spring and winter with the rate of Tmean reaching 0.32 °C/decade and 0.31 °C/decade, respectively. Most of the extreme temperature indices as defined using absolute and relative thresholds of Tmax and Tmin also show significant changes, with cold events witnessing a more significant downward trend. The change is similar to that reported for global land and China for the past six decades. It is also found that the extreme highest temperature (1958) and lowest temperature (1920) records all occurred in the first half of the whole period, and the change of extreme temperature indices before 1950 is different from that of the recent decades, in particular for diurnal temperature range (DTR), which shows an opposite trend in the two time periods.

scholarly journals Didymo and Its Polysaccharide Stalks: Beneficial to the Environment or Not?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79
Author(s):  
Hurmat Ejaz ◽  
Esther Somanader ◽  
Uday Dave ◽  
Hermann Ehrlich ◽  
M. Azizur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Structural Component ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Adhesive Properties ◽  
The Past ◽  
Positive Side ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Bodies Of Water ◽  
Agricultural Setting

Didymosphenia geminata diatoms, or Didymo, was first found to be an invasive species that could have negative impacts on the environment due to the aggressive growth of its polysaccharide-based stalks. The stalks’ adhesive properties have prompted park officials to alert the general public to limit further spread and contamination of this algae to other bodies of water. Although the negative effects of Didymo have been studied in the past, recent studies have demonstrated a potential positive side to this alga. One of the potential benefits includes the structural component of the polysaccharide stalks. The origin of the polysaccharides within stalks remains unknown; however, they can be useful in a waste management and agricultural setting. The primary purpose of this study was to describe both the harmful and beneficial nature of Didymo. Important outcomes include findings related to its application in various fields such as medicine and technology. These polysaccharides can be isolated and studied closely to produce efficient solar power cells and batteries. Though they may be harmful while uncontained in nature, they appear to be very useful in the technological and medical advancement of our society.

scholarly journals Recent sex ratio at birth in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. e005438
Author(s):  
Quanbao Jiang ◽  
Cuiling Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Normal Level ◽  
Decomposition Methods ◽  
Sex Ratio At Birth ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Female Fetus ◽  
The Past ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Child Policy ◽  
Second Births

BackgroundChina’s sex ratio at birth (SRB) has declined in the past decade but still exceeds the normal level. This study seeks to depict the SRB trend in the past two decades.MethodsWe depicted the SRB trend, including SRB by birth order, children composition, residence and hukou type, education, race and province using latest data available from multiple data sources and standardisation and decomposition methods.ResultsThe SRB remained around 120 in the first decade from 2000 to 2010, and recently declined and approached the normal level during 2010–2020. The SRB for second births and first births converged to the normal level, whereas the SRB for third and above births exceeded the normal level. The rising proportion of second births increased, whereas the decreasing proportion of first births reduced the overall SRB. Parents with only daughters are more likely to abort a female fetus in pursuit of a son, while parents with only sons are more likely to abort a male fetus in pursuit of a daughter. It also shows difference in SRB by residence, hukou type, educational attainment and race. Urban SRB was lower than rural SRB, by the residence and hukou type, but higher than rural SRB after being standardised. Provinces still exhibit differences by original categorised policy even after the implementation of the universal two-child policy.ConclusionsChina’s SRB has declined substantially during the past two decades, but the negative effects need to be tackled.

scholarly journals Mediating distributive politics: political alignment and electoral business cycle effects on municipality financing in Greece

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasios Kitsos ◽  
Antonios Proestakis
Keyword(s):  
Business Cycle ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Intergovernmental Transfers ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Resource Misallocation ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Political Alignment

AbstractWe examine the role of political alignment and the electoral business cycle on municipality revenues in Greece for the period 2003–2010. The misallocation of resources for political gain represents a waste of resources with significant negative effects on local growth and effective decentralization. The focus of our analysis is municipality mayors since they mediate the relationship between central government and voters and hence can influence the effectiveness of any potential pork-barrelling activity. A novel panel data set combining the results of two local and three national elections with annual municipality budgets is used to run a fixed-effects econometric model. This allows us to identify whether the political alignment between mayors and central government affects municipality financing. We examine this at different stages of local and national electoral cycles, investigating both direct intergovernmental transfers (grants) and the remaining sources of local revenues (own revenues, loans). We find that total revenues are significantly higher for aligned municipalities in the run-up to elections due to higher intergovernmental transfers. We also find evidence that the 2008 crisis has reduced such pork-barrelling activity. This significant resource misallocation increases vertical networking dependency and calls for policy changes promoting greater decentralization and encouraging innovation in local revenue raising.

scholarly journals Effect of regional skill gaps and skill shortages on firm productivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 933-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Morris ◽  
Enrico Vanino ◽  
Carlo Corradini
Keyword(s):  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Firm Productivity ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Regional Productivity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Skill Gaps ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Skill Shortages

This paper contributes to the literature on regional productivity, complementing previous education and skill-level perspectives with a novel approach analysing the impact of regional skill gaps and skill shortages. This allows us to reflect the idiosyncratic needs of the regional economic structure better, considering both the demand and supply side of the skills equation in localised labour markets. Controlling for unobserved time-invariant firm-level heterogeneity and other region–industry effects across a longitudinal data set for the period 2008–2014, our analysis reveals a negative direct effect of skill shortages on firm productivity. We further find negative spillover effects for both skill gaps and skill shortages in related industries and proximate regions. Results are also shown to be heterogeneous with respect to agglomeration levels and industrial sectors. Stronger negative effects are found in industries defined by a knowledge-intensive skill base, pointing to the loss of learning effects in the presence of skill deficiencies. Conversely, agglomeration effects appear to moderate the impact of skill deficiencies through more efficient matching in the local labour market. The findings presented thus suggest that policies aimed at improving productivity and addressing the increasing regional productivity divide cannot be reduced to a simple space-neutral support for higher education and skill levels but need to recognise explicitly the presence and characteristics of place-specific skills gaps and shortages.

Age Differences in Life Events: A Multivariate Controlled Analysis

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana C. Hughes ◽  
Dan G. Blazer ◽  
Linda K. George
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
Personal Interview ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Loved One ◽  
The Past

Effects of age on the distribution of specific life events experienced during the past year by community-based adults were examined controlling for sex, race, education, marital status, and place of residence. The controlled analyses were done using logistic regression. Data were gathered via personal interview from 3,798 respondents ages eighteen years and over who participated in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA), community survey from North Carolina. Respondents were placed in one of four age groups. The percentage of respondents reporting each of the nineteen events examined ranged from 0.5 percent for death of spouse to 19.1 percent for death of loved one. Age was an important predictor in the controlled analysis for thirteen of the seventeen life events examined. A majority of differences occurred between the youngest and oldest age groups. Age differences were not found for illness of one week or more involving activity limitation.

scholarly journals Self-reflectivity: a moment of professionalization in psychotherapy training

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarete Finger-Ossinger ◽  
Henriette Löffler-Stastka
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
European Association ◽  
Psychotherapy Training ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Clear Indication ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
The Past ◽  
Essential Prerequisite

The required basic skills of European psychotherapists were published by the European Association of Psychotherapy in 2013. One of these abilities is self-reflection. To mentalize oneself, to reflect on what circumstances and experiences in the past and present have led to the present desires, thoughts and convictions is an essential prerequisite for professional work in the psychosocial field. With the help of the thematic analysis a data set of 41 self-reflection reports of students is analysed at the end of the training. Since the training should be evaluated and if necessary optimized, it should be examined which elements of the online preparation course make the selfreflection ability visible. The analysis of the students’ texts gives a clear indication of existing self-reflection skills. It was surprising that for some students, besides the great importance of self-awareness lessons, affective integration into the blended learning program was an essential impulse for self-reflection.

scholarly journals Augmented Data Selector to Initiate Text-Based CAPTCHA Attack

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Aolin Che ◽  
Yalin Liu ◽  
Hong Xiao ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
Ke Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Accuracy Rate ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Training Models ◽  
The Past ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Design Cost ◽  
Accuracy Rates

In the past decades, due to the low design cost and easy maintenance, text-based CAPTCHAs have been extensively used in constructing security mechanisms for user authentications. With the recent advances in machine/deep learning in recognizing CAPTCHA images, growing attack methods are presented to break text-based CAPTCHAs. These machine learning/deep learning-based attacks often rely on training models on massive volumes of training data. The poorly constructed CAPTCHA data also leads to low accuracy of attacks. To investigate this issue, we propose a simple, generic, and effective preprocessing approach to filter and enhance the original CAPTCHA data set so as to improve the accuracy of the previous attack methods. In particular, the proposed preprocessing approach consists of a data selector and a data augmentor. The data selector can automatically filter out a training data set with training significance. Meanwhile, the data augmentor uses four different image noises to generate different CAPTCHA images. The well-constructed CAPTCHA data set can better train deep learning models to further improve the accuracy rate. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the accuracy rates of five commonly used attack methods after combining our preprocessing approach are 2.62% to 8.31% higher than those without preprocessing approach. Moreover, we also discuss potential research directions for future work.

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