title: A Qualitative Study of Incest Offender Implicit Theories With The Help Of A Modified Assessment Tool

authors: Jamisetty, Vijetha

subjects: Cognitive Distortions

abstract: This study intends to provide some insight into the various Implicit Theories (ITs) harboured by child sex offenders. ITs (Ward & Keenan, 1999) are the distorted beliefs which enable sex offenders to justify their actions and avoid taking responsibility for their offenses. The present study will examine the ITs of various types of incest offenders as these have not been studied in isolation from those of other types of child molesters. Besides facilitating offending, such ITs may act as responsivity barriers in the treatment of incest offenders. The primary aim of this study is to determine the nature of these distorted beliefs through the use of a modified assessment tool, then, do a qualitative analysis of a selected group from the initial sample to determine what these ITs look like in individual or exemplar cases, and finally discuss how such beliefs may hamper treatment success. By enhancing the understanding of these ITs, the study hopes to emphasize on the importance of  strategies to avoid the obstacles in the treatment process caused by such distorted beliefs and help therapists achieve improved treatment results with incest offenders. 
ITs are currently considered extremely important in understanding the offending behaviour of sex offenders, as well as their attitude towards their offenses and their victims (Brown, Gray, Snowden, 2009). For example, child molesters believe that children incite sexual involvement from them through their actions (for example, sitting in the lap of the offender, hugging or kissing the offender). Such beliefs enable sex offenders to validate their forced sexual intimacy with children and also allow such offenders to justify their continued offenses against their victims (Rice & Harris, 2002). Ward (2002) argued that ITs determine how the offenders interpret their experience with their victims. Offenders are thought to reinterpret, reject, or reconstruct a sexual offence against a child in the face of an inconsistency between their ITs and the evidence (e.g., the child whom an offender may believe is interested in sex may scream or cry when assaulted rather than appear to be a willing participant), but rarely are the ITs modified (Ward & Keenan, 1999). Some studies have suggested that it takes rather compelling evidence on the contrary for the offenders to consider modifying their ITs (Rice & Harris, 2002). Hence, this study was intended to observe these ITs specifically among incest offenders to determine how they look in exemplar cases. The findings of the study strongly indicate the existence of ITs and that offenders do utilize them in order to justify their offense to themselves and the world around them. The current study also hopes to also shed some light on the importance of taking ITs into consideration in strategizing effective treatment strategies for incest offenders.

text: A Qualitative Study of Incest Offender Implicit Theories With The Help Of A Modified Assessment Tool This study intends to provide some insight into the various Implicit Theories (ITs) harboured by child sex offenders. ITs (Ward & Keenan, 1999) are the distorted beliefs which enable sex offenders to justify their actions and avoid taking responsibility for their offenses. The present study will examine the ITs of various types of incest offenders as these have not been studied in isolation from those of other types of child molesters. Besides facilitating offending, such ITs may act as responsivity barriers in the treatment of incest offenders. The primary aim of this study is to determine the nature of these distorted beliefs through the use of a modified assessment tool, then, do a qualitative analysis of a selected group from the initial sample to determine what these ITs look like in individual or exemplar cases, and finally discuss how such beliefs may hamper treatment success. By enhancing the understanding of these ITs, the study hopes to emphasize on the importance of  strategies to avoid the obstacles in the treatment process caused by such distorted beliefs and help therapists achieve improved treatment results with incest offenders. 
ITs are currently considered extremely important in understanding the offending behaviour of sex offenders, as well as their attitude towards their offenses and their victims (Brown, Gray, Snowden, 2009). For example, child molesters believe that children incite sexual involvement from them through their actions (for example, sitting in the lap of the offender, hugging or kissing the offender). Such beliefs enable sex offenders to validate their forced sexual intimacy with children and also allow such offenders to justify their continued offenses against their victims (Rice & Harris, 2002). Ward (2002) argued that ITs determine how the offenders interpret their experience with their victims. Offenders are thought to reinterpret, reject, or reconstruct a sexual offence against a child in the face of an inconsistency between their ITs and the evidence (e.g., the child whom an offender may believe is interested in sex may scream or cry when assaulted rather than appear to be a willing participant), but rarely are the ITs modified (Ward & Keenan, 1999). Some studies have suggested that it takes rather compelling evidence on the contrary for the offenders to consider modifying their ITs (Rice & Harris, 2002). Hence, this study was intended to observe these ITs specifically among incest offenders to determine how they look in exemplar cases. The findings of the study strongly indicate the existence of ITs and that offenders do utilize them in order to justify their offense to themselves and the world around them. The current study also hopes to also shed some light on the importance of taking ITs into consideration in strategizing effective treatment strategies for incest offenders.

year: 2012

title: Forest change mapping using remote sensing and Google Earth Engine

authors: Walawe Durage, Kalpanie Vimarshana Nandasena

subjects: Google Earth Engine

abstract: With advancements in data sources, software, and image analysis techniques, remote sensing has become an efficient method for forest classification. However, access to this technology has been limited for developing countries due to the high cost of high resolution images and analysis software. A potential solution is that NASA and the European Space Agency provide free access to mid-low resolution satellite images. In addition, Google Earth Engine (GEE), a free cloud-based geospatial analysis platform, has allowed researchers from developing countries to conduct research without relying on costly remote sensing software. This study evaluates the suitability of the freely available images and the GEE platform for different forest management applications in Sri Lanka. The research focused on three different scenarios in vegetation mapping: identifying home gardens, monitoring invasive pines, and forest cover mapping in a tropical montane region.
Home garden is an agroforestry class seen in tropical countries often overshadowed by global land cover classifications. This study used a random forest classification algorithm to classify the home garden, utilizing terrain data and Sentinel-2A images as the dataset. The results confirmed that the red band of Sentinel-2 and textural metrics derived from grey-level co-occurrence matrix analysis are effective in identifying home gardens from other forestry classes.
Monitoring the spread of invasive pines is important for forest management in Sri Lanka. This study used Landsat satellite images for the years 2000 and 2021 to detect the exotic Pinus caribaea species invasion of native habitats. By using an image difference technique, this research identified that the extent of these invasive pines had an overall decline over the past 21 years. Further, results showed that broadleaved forests and grasslands located within 100m of the pine plantations’ borders were susceptible to invasion.

In tropical regions, analysing forests can be difficult due to cloud cover. This research also focused on methods to enhance classification accuracy using multiple data sources: Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, PALSAR-2, and elevation. Six different methods were tested. It was found that combining radar data with optical and topographical data improved vegetation classification accuracy. In addition, feature importance analysis using the random forest algorithm indicated that radar data plays a significant role in tropical land use classification.
The three case studies used in this research demonstrate that GEE and the freely available mid-low resolution satellite images make the application of remote sensing in Sri Lanka a viable solution for the monitoring and mapping of landcover.

text: Forest change mapping using remote sensing and Google Earth Engine With advancements in data sources, software, and image analysis techniques, remote sensing has become an efficient method for forest classification. However, access to this technology has been limited for developing countries due to the high cost of high resolution images and analysis software. A potential solution is that NASA and the European Space Agency provide free access to mid-low resolution satellite images. In addition, Google Earth Engine (GEE), a free cloud-based geospatial analysis platform, has allowed researchers from developing countries to conduct research without relying on costly remote sensing software. This study evaluates the suitability of the freely available images and the GEE platform for different forest management applications in Sri Lanka. The research focused on three different scenarios in vegetation mapping: identifying home gardens, monitoring invasive pines, and forest cover mapping in a tropical montane region.
Home garden is an agroforestry class seen in tropical countries often overshadowed by global land cover classifications. This study used a random forest classification algorithm to classify the home garden, utilizing terrain data and Sentinel-2A images as the dataset. The results confirmed that the red band of Sentinel-2 and textural metrics derived from grey-level co-occurrence matrix analysis are effective in identifying home gardens from other forestry classes.
Monitoring the spread of invasive pines is important for forest management in Sri Lanka. This study used Landsat satellite images for the years 2000 and 2021 to detect the exotic Pinus caribaea species invasion of native habitats. By using an image difference technique, this research identified that the extent of these invasive pines had an overall decline over the past 21 years. Further, results showed that broadleaved forests and grasslands located within 100m of the pine plantations’ borders were susceptible to invasion.

In tropical regions, analysing forests can be difficult due to cloud cover. This research also focused on methods to enhance classification accuracy using multiple data sources: Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, PALSAR-2, and elevation. Six different methods were tested. It was found that combining radar data with optical and topographical data improved vegetation classification accuracy. In addition, feature importance analysis using the random forest algorithm indicated that radar data plays a significant role in tropical land use classification.
The three case studies used in this research demonstrate that GEE and the freely available mid-low resolution satellite images make the application of remote sensing in Sri Lanka a viable solution for the monitoring and mapping of landcover.

year: 2023

title: Pōwhiri process in mental health research

authors: McClintock, Kahu

subjects: indigenous mental health research

abstract: Within the health research context, indigenous people globally have a commitment to provide their own solutions. Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) value the traditional Pōwhiri process of engagement and participation in mental health research. The practices and protocols within the Pōwhiri process (use in the Doctorate of Philosophy (2010) and Auckland University) are premised on the notion of respect and positive relationships between the tangata whenua (hosts or research participants) and manuwhiri (guests or researchers). This paper briefly describes the Pōwhiri process, which may be a model applicable to research with other indigenous cultures.

text: Pōwhiri process in mental health research Within the health research context, indigenous people globally have a commitment to provide their own solutions. Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) value the traditional Pōwhiri process of engagement and participation in mental health research. The practices and protocols within the Pōwhiri process (use in the Doctorate of Philosophy (2010) and Auckland University) are premised on the notion of respect and positive relationships between the tangata whenua (hosts or research participants) and manuwhiri (guests or researchers). This paper briefly describes the Pōwhiri process, which may be a model applicable to research with other indigenous cultures.

year: 2010