Search results

This study aims to differentiate maladaptive personality domains through crime-related characteristics among convicts incarcerated in central jails of Punjab (CJP). In total, 552 respondents were taken from nine CJP.

Data were collected through the Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 Short Form (PID-5 SF) (Maples et al., 2015), and forced-choice questions were designed to measure crime-related characteristics.

Confirmatory factor analysis showed that PID-5 SF exhibited a good to excellent construct validity based on the DSM-5 criteria of using three facets to measure a domain (APA, 2013). Multivariate analysis showed that convicts who have committed different crime types and have criminal records exhibit different personality domains.

In addition to the literature, the data from all CJP, Pakistan, was collected and tested so that need for personality-oriented intervention could be identified for the prison setting. This also highlights that the usefulness of PID-5 SF is not only in identifying maladaptive personality among incarcerated convicts but also in differentiating between different crime-related characteristics.

This study aims to differentiate crime-related characteristics (such as the number of cases filed against current convictions and criminal history) based on the criminal thinking prevailing among convicts. However, because of the low reliability of subscales and poor structural validity of indigenous and translated versions of international instruments, a new instrument criminal attitude measure (CAM) was extracted to measure criminal thinking patterns among convicts incarcerated in central prisons of Punjab.

A cross-sectional research design was used. Data was collected from 1,949 male convicts (extracting mutually exclusive data from 649 respondents for EFA and 1,300 respondents for confirmatory factor analysis [CFA]). Both data samples were collected from convicts incarcerated in the nine (all) central jails of Punjab, Pakistan.

The results of this study showed poor model fit for both the indigenous criminal thinking scale and the translated version of criminogenic cognition scale. CAM was extracted through principal component analysis and proposed as a 15-item questionnaire with five factors extracted through varimax rotation. Those five factors are power orientation, mollification, entitlement, mistrust toward authorities and short-term orientation. The results of CFA for CAM confirmed the proposed five-factor structure for the construct. Findings based on MANOVA further found that CAM differentiates between the thinking patterns of recidivists, convicts with multiple charges filed against them in current convictions and convicts with a familial criminal record. The findings of this study showed that CAM is a practical, valid and reliable instrument for measuring criminal thinking among convicts.

In this study, using the survey method was inevitable because of the restrictions imposed by the granted permission. However, this time duration was extended because of the courtesy of the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of each jail. This study is focused on a male sample only, and the findings cannot be generalized to females. The phenomena proposed (based on large data sets) in this study can further be elaborated using qualitative research designs and methods (using a small sample with an in-depth study). So, it is also suggested to test this new instrument on a comparative study between prisoners and non-prisoners to explore whether scale can differentiate between these two groups.

A short-scale and easy-to-administer instrument was developed for assessing major criminogenic needs among convicts for prison management, i.e. assigning barracks, allocating treatment and also detecting changes in attitude after imprisonment.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first study to explore and validate the construct of criminal attitudes among convicts using both the EFA and CFA. A small and valid instrument facilitates the measurement of criminogenic needs among prisoners. Data was collected from all central jails in Punjab. This study explored comparatively less researched crime characteristics in a relatively large sample.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into xylophagia, its treatment, intervention options, etiological causes and possible relationship with other diseases.

A systematic search was performed across four scientific databases (i.e. Ovid Medline, Embase via Ovid, PubMed and ProQuest). All of the qualitative studies reporting on xylophagia from the inception of databases until August 2019 have been included. The quality of included studies was assessed through a ten-item checklist given by Kmet et al. (2004).

A total of 18 studies were included, and five primary themes emerged after analysis: precipitation/onset of xylophagia, co-morbid psychiatric or medical illnesses, assessment and investigation modes to confirm diagnosis, outcomes of xylophagia and treatment options comprising medical care, psychological care, counseling and duration of recovery. There were 16 females and 9 males in included studies. The mean ages and standard deviations of males and females were 29.25(12.17) years and 32.81(11.92), respectively. The mean duration and standard deviation of paper pica were 4.80(4.27) years.

Despite the limitation that this meta-synthesis is based upon findings from case studies, results show that standardized medication regimens for treating xylophagia are still not available or are unknown. There is a dire need for further research in order to better understand the disorder. The healthcare professionals need to use reciprocal, mutually constituent influence of biological and sociocultural factors in order to screen, diagnose and manage complex psychological problems like xylophagia.

The findings advance our understanding of the positive effects of patients and family members undergoing counseling or cognitive behavior therapy in reducing stress and enhancing coping skills thus, avoiding self-damaging behaviors.

Two-thirds of medical decisions are based on laboratory test results. Therefore, laboratories should practice strict quality control (QC) measures. Traditional QC processes may not accurately reflect the magnitude of errors in clinical laboratories. Six Sigma is a statistical tool which provides opportunity to assess performance at the highest level of excellence. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate performance of the coagulation laboratory utilizing Sigma metrics as the highest level of quality.

Quality indicators of the coagulation laboratory from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2015, were evaluated. These QIs were categorized into pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical. Relative frequencies of errors were calculated and converted to Sigma scale to determine the extent of control over each process. The Sigma level of 4 was considered optimal performance.

During the study period, a total of 474,655 specimens were received and 890,535 analyses were performed. These include 831,760 (93.4 percent) routine and 58,775 (6.6 percent) special tests. Stat reporting was requested for 166,921 (18.7 percent). Of 7,535,146 total opportunities (sum of the total opportunities for all indicators), a total of 4,005 errors were detected. There were 2,350 (58.7 percent) pre-analytical, 11 (0.3 percent) analytical and 1,644 (41 percent) post-analytical errors. Average Sigma value obtained was 4.8 with 12 (80 percent) indicators achieving a Sigma value of 4. Three (20 percent) low-performance indicators were: unacceptable proficiency testing (3.8), failure to inform critical results (3.6) and delays in stat reporting (3.9).

This study shows that a small number of errors can decrease Sigma value to below acceptability limits. If clinical laboratories start using Sigma metrics for monitoring their performance, they can identify gaps in their performance more readily and hence can improve their performance and patient safety.

This study provides an opportunity for the laboratorians to choose and set world-class goals while assessing their performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge and belief, this study is the first of its kind that has utilized Sigma metrics as a QC tool for monitoring performance of a coagulation laboratory.

The purpose of this paper is to understand local perceptions on climate change and its impacts on biodiversity, rangeland, agriculture and human health.

A household survey with 300 interviewees and focus group discussions with key stakeholders were conducted and validated at two steps, using the climate data from the nearest weather stations and reviewing literatures, to correlate the local perceptions on climate change and its impacts.

Majority of the respondents reported an increase in temperature and change in the precipitation pattern with increased hazardous incidences such as floods, avalanches and landslides. Climate change directly impacted plant distribution, species composition, disease and pest infestation, forage availability, agricultural productivity and human health risks related to infectious vector-borne diseases.

Because of the remoteness and difficult terrain, there are insufficient local weather stations in the mountains providing inadequate scientific data, thus requiring extrapolation from nearest stations for long-term climate data monitoring.

The research findings recommend taking immediate actions to develop local climate change adaptation strategies through a participatory approach that would enable local communities to strengthen their adaptive capacity and resilience.

Local knowledge-based perceptions on climate change and its impacts on social, ecological and economic sectors could help scientists, practitioners and policymakers to understand the ground reality and respond accordingly through effective planning and implementing adaptive measures including policy formulation.

This research focuses on combining local knowledge-based perceptions and climate science to elaborate the impacts of climate change in a localised context in Rakaposhi Valley in Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan.