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The Brief Symptom Inventory-9 (BSI-9):psychometric properties among Irish college students
No full textIntroductionThe Brief Symptom Inventory-9 (BSI-9) is a recently developed short (9-item) self-report scale measuring distress. It has three Subscales measuring Anxiety, Depression, and Somatisation. The BSI-9 is based on longer scales (BSI-18, BSI-53, and SCL-90) and was developed as a brief screening tool.ObjectivesThe present study examined the generalisability of the original foundational research undertaken in Germany. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the BSI-9 among a sample of Irish college students.MethodsA sample of 763 Irish college students completed the BSI-9, and a further 18 students completed the BSI-9 on two occasions, separated by four weeks, as part of a more extensive study. Factor analyses and reliability analyses were carried out.ResultsThe BSI-9 scale and the three Subscales measuring Somatisation, Anxiety, and Depression were each found to have appropriate factor loadings, satisfactory levels of internal consistency, and satisfactory levels of temporal stability across four weeks. These findings are consistent with those reported in the original foundational research in Germany.ConclusionsAlthough the sample size was small and restricted to students only, the present study does provide evidence for the reliability of the BSI-9 among a sample of Irish college students. Future work is now required to extend this work to examine the convergent validity of the BSI-9 among other English-speaking samples
Beyond belief:advancing death education through children’s experiences of non-corporeal continuation
No full textProponents of death education in schools acknowledge that children understand the biological aspects of death, and many hold co-existing beliefs in non-corporeal continuation. This paper offers originality by highlighting a gap in the death education literature, arguing that to increase curriculum relevance, we need to move beyond considering children’s “beliefs about” life after death/before life to also acknowledge their “experiences of” it. Using thanatological principles, it draws from different disciplines to document children and young people’s encounters with other lives, including: communicating with the deceased in waking and dream life; having near death experiences (NDEs); and remembering past lives. The implications of including non-corporeal continuation in the curriculum are explored. While challenges are acknowledged, the paper argues that the topic contributes to a meaningful curriculum by foregrounding a child-centered approach which privileges their voice(s) and agency. Simultaneously, it can potentially alleviate some of the fears about discussing death in schools
Why Aporia? Asking and (Un)Answering the Complexities of Well-Being in Sport and Performance
No full textBackgroundThis workshop invites participants to engage with ‘aporia’, a concept rooted in ancient Greek philosophy meaning “no way out.” Aporia is both a state of cognitive impasse and a felt, embodied experience of disorientation. Drawing on Socratic elenchus and aporetic dialogue, we explore the utility of not-knowing in sport and performance contexts. The aim is to cultivate a reflective space where discomfort is not pathologized or hurriedly resolved but held as fertile ground for insight. Participants will leave with greater tolerance for uncertainty and a reimagined relationship with outcome-driven practice.Key PointsThrough discussion and experiential activities, we examine how dominant paradigms in sport, exercise, and performance psychology often resist aporia by prioritising solutions, outcomes, and resolution over process. We ask: what if discomfort and doubt are not obstacles to be removed but sources of creativity and epistemic humility? What happens if we make conscious our unconscious leanings toward certainty and closure? Participants will explore embodied practices that develop “mindfulness of aporia,” deconstruct assumptions about well-being and performance, and examine how aporetic inquiry might challenge the field’s normative pressures.ConclusionsThis session argues that aporia, whilst antithetical to solution-focused approaches, can foster deeper transformation than resolution alone permits. Theoretical implications include a reframing of knowledge practices in sport and exercise psychology; applied implications include an expanded capacity for holding complexity in client work. We conclude with recommendations for psychology professionals seeking to cultivate epistemic flexibility, creativity, and a more attuned approach to uncertainty when supporting well-being in high-performance environments.Content Note GuidanceThis workshop encourages Socratic and Aporetic approaches to well-being in sport and performance. While it is not anticipated that direct sensitive content will be discussed, the workshop encourages presenters to embrace complexity and uncertainty, which could lead to professional vulnerability and initial disorientation and discomfort
The COMPASS model in criminal and forensic psychology
No full textTraditional approaches in the Criminal Justice System have focused on societal causes of crime, addressing them through punitive measures with mixed efficacy. Recent shifts toward positive psychological interventions aim to improve recidivism but often overlook the role of compassion. The COMPASS Model in Criminal and Forensic Psychology demonstrates how a compassionate approach, informed by positive psychology, can offer a more effective strategy in reforming criminal behavior. The Durkin COMPASS Model offers a groundbreaking theoretical framework for criminology and forensic psychology, integrating compassion and positive psychology with evidence-based practice to facilitate desistence from crime. It capitalizes on the strengths central to positive psychology, fostering hope and well-being, while its compassion element emphasizes empathetic understanding and self-healing. Durkin adopts a holistic perspective, considering an individual's complete background, including trauma and personal strengths, rather than focusing solely on the crime. Designed for practical implementation, the COMPASS Model equips practitioners with tools to reduce recidivism, support offender rehabilitation, and contribute to their overall well-being, marking a significant shift towards nurturing a pro-social identity as a means of crime reduction. The COMPASS Model in Criminal and Forensic Psychology serves as a crucial resource for criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, academics, and advocates, offering innovative, evidence-based strategies from compassion and positive psychology to transform offender rehabilitation and inform systemic change in the criminal justice landscape.</p
Indirect sexual harassment in conservative societies:what we don’t know
No full textThis study aims to explore the incidence of the sexual harassment of women within conservative Muslim societies. It investigates the factors that contribute to sexual harassment as well as the impact of informal cultural forces on the experiences of sexual harassment faced by women. The study draws on interviews with 22 women in leadership roles in the voluntary and non-profit sector. Three key themes emerged from the data analysis: Indirect sexual acts, causes of sexual harassment, and coercion, each accompanied by its respective subthemes. The implications of the findings for societal change are discussed, together with limitations and ideas for future research
Revisionism 2.0:The Royal Irish Constabulary Commemoration Controversy of 2020
No full textThis article explores the Royal Irish Constabulary Commemoration controversy of 2020. It argues that the Irish government’s attempts to separate the ‘good’ (Irish) recruits from ‘bad’ (British) recruits to the force can be linked to longer-running trends in Irish collective memory, and is an example of what has been termed ‘commemorative memory’: where historical narratives are used (instrumentally) ‘to legitimise collective identities and social institutions’. The RIC commemoration, it is argued, bore resemblances to the revisionist controversy of the 1980s, which saw debates about the morality of violence where the (legitimate) campaign of the ‘old IRA’ was contrasted with the (illegitimate) campaign of the Provisional IRA. The result, it contends, was that the government’s attempt at an inclusive commemoration in a ‘post-imperial’ setting inadvertently pathologised those of British heritage in Ireland
Re-ARM Europe and the EU's new industrial revolution:from neoliberal stagnation to military Keynesianism
No full textAn adaptive meta-reinforcement learning framework for dynamic flexible job shop scheduling
No full textThe optimization of flexible job shop scheduling is essential for improving manufacturing efficiency and performance in dynamic production environments. However, existing scheduling methods face challenges in scalability and adaptability, which limits their effectiveness in such environments. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a generalized and modular DFJSP framework that systematically decomposes shop-floor elements into key modules, enabling flexible and resilient scheduling under dynamic conditions. Building on this framework, an Adaptive Markov Decision Process (AMDP) is formulated to capture real-time shop-floor states and guide optimal action selection. Leveraging Meta-Reinforcement Learning (MRL), the proposed approach integrates Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning (MAML) with Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) to facilitate rapid adaptation to new scheduling tasks while enhancing policy generalization. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the framework effectively balances multiple dynamic objectives, including makespan and energy consumption, and adapts efficiently to real-time variations in job priorities, machine availability, and processing times. The results highlight the potential of combining modular problem formulation, AMDP modeling, and MRL for scalable, efficient, and robust DFJSP solutions in modern manufacturing environments
Relationships at risk:insights into impulsivity and aggression in victim-informed domestic abuse
No full textResearch consistently reveals links between aggression and impulsivity in domestic abuse (DA) perpetration. This study examines how these constructs can inform victim-perception risk assessments. Using informant-adapted versions of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), participants from a community and student sample (n = 113) rated both themselves and their most recent partners. Findings showed that those identifying as survivors of DA from their most recent partner rated their abusers significantly higher on aggression and impulsivity across all subscales, with large effect sizes for partner ratings. Survivors’ self-reports also indicated higher aggression and cognitive impulsivity than non-victims. These results suggest that victims possess valuable insight into perpetrators’ traits, supporting the use of victim perceptions when perpetrator self-report is not feasible. Incorporating such perspectives may enhance police and practitioner risk assessments and improve safeguarding responses
Exploring the experiences of women academics in England:the combined effects of societal, structural and life-stage factors
No full textThis study explored the experiences of women who are academics working in UK higher education (HE), using a feminist approach and narrative methods and analysis. The purpose of the research was to explore the experiences of women, with a view to highlighting potential shared experiences, informing the policies of universities, and to add to the body of knowledge on women in HE. Findings include narrative themes around gender roles, male-dominated academia and life-stage impact on career. Concluding recommendations include meaningful recognition of pastoral roles, and promotion tracks which value these skills; and support for women’s life-stages, including maternity, motherhood, menopause and sandwich caring