Search

PurposeThe use of emergency barring orders (EBO) in the form of domestic violence protection notices and orders (DVPN-O) in reported domestic abuse (DA) cases is a relatively new development in the UK; the effectiveness of these orders has been challenged. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing their issue.Design/methodology/approachFreedom of information (FOI) requests were used alongside a survey tool. Practitioners (n= 76; mainly police practitioners) were asked about approaches to EBO application, risk and training around DA.FindingsThe findings indicate that applications are impacted largely by domestic abuse stalking harassment risk grading, typically resulting in high-risk cases receiving the most attention. Criticisms suggesting that DVPN-Os are of limited use receive some support from this study; however, as their use is restricted to these higher-risk cases, the full effect of the orders may be limited. The most important factors in decision-making are the level of physical violence, repeated victimization and the victims support for a DVPN-O. Police intelligence and the presence of children also have an effect on risk ratings. Less importance was given to lower risk–graded cases, wider intelligence from family members and information from social networks. Findings also indicate that police training is largely limited to “on-the-job” experience, e-learning and e-mail bulletins.Practical implicationsRespondents proposed that training could be enhanced through victim stories, cross-discipline approaches and wider knowledge beyond isolated specialisms. A number of recommendations are made in line with: structuring professional judgment, using victim accounts in police training and movement toward an evidence-led approach.Originality/valueThis research demonstrates a clear link to the way in which risk and the use of EBO are used by police officers. This research also highlights the desire to see and hear from victims in police training. The value of this research is shown in both the combined approach of FOI requests and a survey and assessing a currently under-researched area of DA response.

The traditional view of intimate partner violence (IPV) is that the perpetrator is male and the victim is female (Dobash, Dobash, Wilson & Daly, 1992). As a result of this, most research into victimisation experiences appears to be conducted with female victims of IPV (Morin, 2014), and research with male victims, and victims from the LGBTQ+ community is less common. The main aim of the current research was to conduct a systematic literature review to synthesise the literature base of IPV victimisation experiences to ascertain how abuse is experienced, and the effects of that abuse. The secondary aim was to investigate the prevalence of different victim groups, across gender and sexuality, in current research studies. The review highlighted that victims of IPV experience several different types of abuse and the negative mental and physical health outcomes associated with that abuse are significant. Additionally, it was found that the large majority of research studies included in the review were conducted with female victims in opposite-sex relationships, and were quantitative and cross-sectional in nature. The implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are put forward.

This paper draws on staff and student consultations conducted during the development of Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter to identify five key tensions which can arise in assessment design and strategy when seeking to balance the wellbeing of students with pedagogical, practical and policy considerations. It highlights the need to acknowledge the pressures of assessment on staff wellbeing as well as students. The particular tensions explored include the need to balance challenge against the psychological threats this can entail; the varying impacts of traditional and novel forms of assessment; the differing demands of collaborative and individual work; the tensions between ideal strategies and those which are practically feasible; and the ways in which feedback is given (as a constructive learning tool) and received (often as a psychological threat). These tensions can provide a valuable point of reflection for educators who need to critically and proactively navigate these conflicts within their own assessment design and practices, as part of a wider whole university approach to promoting student wellbeing.

Introduction In 2D ultrasound, the lens of the fetal eye can be distinguished as white circles within the hypoechoic eyeball, and eye movements can be visualized from about 15 weeks' gestation. It has been shown that from 31 weeks gestational age the fetal sensory system is capable of directed vision if enough light is available. Methods We have developed a light source for delivering visual stimuli to be seen by the fetal eye, using laser dot diodes emitting at 650 nm. The 2D component of 94 fetal ultrasound scans (mean gestational age 240 days), where the light stimulus was presented, was coded to determine whether the eyes moved in response to the stimuli independent of any head movement. Results The light stimulus significantly provoked head and eye movements, but after the light was withdrawn the head stopped moving, yet the eyes continued to move. Conclusion This provides evidence for visual attention mechanisms that can be controlled through eye movements that are independent of head movements prior to birth., We have developed a light source for delivering visual stimuli to be seen by the fetal eye, and the 2D component of 94 fetal scans was coded to determine whether the eyes moved in response to the stimuli independent of any head movement. The light stimulus significantly provoked head and eye movements, but after the light was withdrawn the head stopped moving, yet the eyes continued to move. This provides evidence for visual attention mechanisms that can be controlled through eye movements that are independent of head movements prior to birth.

Current research and statistics support that there are a significant number of male victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), yet less is known about how men cope with, and indeed move on from, these experiences postseparation. The aim of the current study is to discuss the findings from a photo elicitation study exploring men's postseparation experiences of coping after IPV experiences; photo elicitation as a method of interviewing is simply the use of photos within an interview setting (Harper, 2002), they are used as a stimulus to elicit richer accounts of the topic under study (Frith & Harcourt, 2007). We interviewed 16 men who brought photos that represented their experience for discussion. Interviews were analyzed thematically, and several overarching themes were identified: (a) power, (b) postseparation support, (c) systemic injustice and separation, (d) separation, impact, and loss. Men described the ways in which they engaged in mechanisms to help their “recovery” and help them to cope, but these efforts were often hampered by ongoing issues of power with their ex-partners, gender stereotyped treatment, a lack of support from systems they approached for help, and separation from their children. Findings are discussed in relation to current legislation and practice, with recommendations made around the need for tailored support and intervention to support men and their children.

The current study examined the mediating role of affect dysregulation, maladaptive personality traits, and negative urgency in the association between childhood cumulative trauma (CCT) and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV). A total of 241 men and women from the general population answered self-report questionnaires assessing these variables. Results indicated that 70% of participants reported at least two different types of childhood trauma, while, over the past year, 80% indicated having perpetrated or experienced psychological IPV. Path analyses of a sequential mediation model confirmed that the CCT–IPV association is explained by affect dysregulation, maladaptive personality traits, and negative urgency. These findings support the need to assess affect regulation and personality traits in CCT survivors. Psychosocial interventions should aim to increase self-soothing skills and decrease negative urgency to prevent psychological IPV.

Although there have been great advances in understanding radiological expertise, in particular the type of errors made, there is still a limited understanding of the underlying processes that are involved in accurate medical image perception and to date the medical image perception and vision science literatures have largely developed separately. In this Research Topic, therefore, we set out six clear aims, and despite only having four accepted papers, because they have taken four distinct approaches to the Topic we have met most of the aims.

Childhood onset epilepsy is associated with disrupted developmental integration of sensorimotor and cognitive functions that contribute to persistent neurobehavioural comorbidities. The role of epilepsy and its treatment on the development of functional integration of motor and cognitive domains is unclear. Oculomotor tasks can probe neurophysiological and neurocognitive mechanisms vulnerable to developmental disruptions by epilepsy-related factors. The study involved 26 patients and 48 typically developing children aged 8–18 years old who performed a prosaccade and an antisaccade task. Analyses compared medicated chronic epilepsy patients and unmedicated controlled epilepsy patients to healthy control children on saccade latency, accuracy and dynamics, errors and correction rate, and express saccades. Patients with medicated chronic epilepsy had impaired and more variable processing speed, reduced accuracy, increased peak velocity and a greater number of inhibitory errors, younger unmedicated patients also showed deficits in error monitoring. Deficits were related to reported behavioural problems in patients. Epilepsy factors were significant predictors of oculomotor functions. An earlier age at onset predicted reduced latency of prosaccades and increased express saccades, and the typical relationship between express saccades and inhibitory errors was absent in chronic patients, indicating a persistent reduction in tonic cortical inhibition and aberrant cortical connectivity. In contrast, onset in later childhood predicted altered antisaccade dynamics indicating disrupted neurotransmission in frontoparietal and oculomotor networks with greater demand on inhibitory control. The observed saccadic abnormalities are consistent with a dysmaturation of subcortical-cortical functional connectivity and aberrant neurotransmission. Eye movements could be used to monitor the impact of epilepsy on neurocognitive development and help assess the risk for poor neurobehavioural outcomes.