Teachers’ Perceptions of Bullying: A Focus Group Approach

The current qualitative study used a focus group approach to examine teachers’ perceptions of student aggressors and victims. Participants in the current study included 35 teachers from public elementary, middle, and high schools. Teachers’ responses to five questions about risk factors for aggression and victimization, adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies, and advice for victimized youth were analyzed using thematic analysis. Teachers frequently identified family factors as a risk factor for becoming an aggressor. Appearance-based factors, shyness, and emotional reactivity were commonly mentioned as risk factors for victimization. Teachers believed that strong displays of emotions, physical retaliation, and ignoring the situation were ineffective means for victims to respond to peer aggression. Reporting the aggression to an adult, appropriately standing up for oneself, and seeking support from friends were viewed as more effective strategies for responding to peer victimization. Directions for future research and implications for intervention are discussed.     

A Rhetorical Perspective on the 1997 British Party Manifestos

This article discusses the British political system's reliance on party manifestos and suggests that they deserve study as rhetorical texts. The magazine-like 1997 manifestos of the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat Parties are analyzed with respect to their iconic structure, the priority of policy domains in their social critiques, their historical narratives, and their narratives on the central issue of economics. Results suggest that all three parties focused on British history since 1979 and on economic issues. The Conservative Manifesto subordinated people to icons and graphs, concentrated on economic analyses, and portrayed the party's policies as successful. Labour and Liberal Democrats emphasized economic failures; the Liberal Democrats sought wide-ranging populist reforms, while "New" Labour ran against the Tory record and the historic radicalism of "Old" Labour.     

Google liability for misleading or deceptive conduct: Australian perspective

On 6 of February 2013, the Australian High Court handed down an important decision in respect of the Google Inc's (Google) appeal against the decision of the Full Federal Court of Australia, holding that Google a search engine operator was not liable under s 52 of the Trade Practices Act (TPA) 1974 (Cth) for misleading or deceptive conduct (in respect of misleading advertisements published using Google's online ‘AdWords program’). The decision of the High Court is of great significance for jurisprudence on misleading and deceptive conduct with its broad implications for search engine providers such as Google, advertisers and trademark owners.     

Peasant insurrection in China reconsidered: A preliminary examination of the Jun Mountain peasant rising,Nantong county, 1863

Focusing on a concrete historical example ‐ the Jun Mountain Peasant Rising, a small‐scale, mid‐nineteenth century insurgency in the Yangzi delta region ‐ this article re‐evaluates standard interpretations of peasant action and resistance in China. Although obscure and abortive, the Jun Mountain rising illuminates the developing role and interpenetration of ‘outsider’ communities, sectarian ideology/organisation, class formation, and long‐term trends in peasant culture in the emergence of an insurgent politics which at once built upon and transcended local ties. Preliminary examination of these politics thus contributes to current debate about the nature of Chinese peasant rebellions.     

Changes in staff confidence and attributions for challenging behaviour after training in positive behavioural support within a forensic medium secure service

Positive behavioural support (PBS) is a non-aversive approach to preventing and managing challenging behaviours. Seventy-nine qualified and unqualified nursing, psychology and occupational therapy staff were trained in using PBS. To measure the effectiveness of the training, confidence in managing challenging behaviour and attributions for causality, control and stability were measured before and after the training. To measure confidence, an adapted version of the Confidence in Coping with Patient Aggression Instrument was used. Attributions were measured using the Challenging Behaviour Attributions Scale and the Causal Dimension Scale II. There was a significant increase in confidence after training. In addition, there were significant changes in attributions relating to causality and stability of challenging behaviour, particularly for qualified staff. The results suggest that confidence and attributions are affected positively by training in PBS within a medium secure forensic mental health setting.