Bullying and the Abuse of Power.

Dan Olweus pioneered research on school bullying and identified the importance of, and risk factors associated with, bullying and victimization. In this paper, we conduct a narrative review of the critical notion of power within bullying. Specifically, we discuss Olweus's definition of bullying and the role of a power imbalance in distinguishing bullying behavior from other forms of aggression. Next, we discuss the changing nature of research on aggression (and the adaptiveness of aggression) throughout the years, the important role of power in these changes, and how the concept of power in relationships has helped elucidate the developmental origins of bullying. We discuss bullying interventions and the potential opportunities for interventions to reduce bullying by making conditions for bullying less favorable and beneficial. Finally, we discuss bullying and the abuse of power that extends beyond the school context and emerges within families, workplaces, and governments. By recognizing and defining school bullying as an abuse of power and a violation of human rights, Olweus has laid the foundation and created the impetus for researching and addressing bullying. This review highlights the importance of examining abuses of power not only in school relationships, but across human relationships and society in general.

Self-heating hotspots in superconducting nanowires cooled by phonon black-body radiation.

Controlling thermal transport is important for a range of devices and technologies, from phase change memories to next-generation electronics. This is especially true in nano-scale devices where thermal transport is altered by the influence of surfaces and changes in dimensionality. In superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, the thermal boundary conductance between the nanowire and the substrate it is fabricated on influences all of the performance metrics that make these detectors attractive for applications. This includes the maximum count rate, latency, jitter, and quantum efficiency. Despite its importance, the study of thermal boundary conductance in superconducting nanowire devices has not been done systematically, primarily due to the lack of a straightforward characterization method. Here, we show that simple electrical measurements can be used to estimate the thermal boundary conductance between nanowires and substrates and that these measurements agree with acoustic mismatch theory across a variety of substrates. Numerical simulations allow us to refine our understanding, however, open questions remain. This work should enable thermal engineering in superconducting nanowire electronics and cryogenic detectors for improved device performance.

Evolutionarily relevant aggressive functions: Differentiating competitive, impression management, sadistic and reactive motives.

This study investigated early adolescents' (ages 9-14; M = 11.91) self-reported, evolutionarily relevant motives for using aggression, including competitive, impression management, sadistic, and reactive functions, and examined differential relations with a range of psychosocial characteristics. As expected, competitive functions were associated with aggression and victimization in which the perpetrator had equal or less power than the victim, in line with the view that these are aversive and appetitive motives related to competition with rivals. Impression management and sadistic functions were associated with bullying and coercive resource control strategies (the latter for boys only), consistent with expectations that these are appetitive motives, with the former being more goal-directed and the latter somewhat more impulsive. Finally, as hypothesized, reactive functions were associated with emotional symptoms, hostility, victimization by bullying, and aggression by perpetrators with equal or less power than the victim, consistent with theory and research conceptualizing reactive aggression as an impulsive, emotion-driven response to provocation. The benefits of studying a wide range of evolutionarily relevant aggressive functions are discussed.

Using social network position to understand early adolescents' power and dominance within a school context.

In social groups, such as school-based peer networks, youth often vie for power and dominance over others. Different strategies may be used to gain power (i.e., coercive and/or cooperative strategies), and with varying levels of success. Using a social networks approach, we examined whether and how social network centrality and social network prestige were associated with social strategies, social power, and peer reputation. Participants were fifth- to eighth-grade elementary school students (N = 466, 51% girls, 63% White) in southern Ontario, Canada. Peer nominations were used to assess social network centrality and prestige (via friendship nominations), social power strategies (coercive and cooperative strategies), social power, and peer reputation (popularity and likeability). Results indicated that coercive and cooperative strategies were used by youth high in both centrality and prestige, but that only high prestige related to power, popularity, and likeability. Results have implications for the usefulness of a social networks approach to understanding the structure of youths' social relationships and power in school settings, as well as practical implications for teachers and other school staff. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of demographics and personality on COVID-19 coping in young adults.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on human behavior and well-being. Demographic factors and personality traits have been shown to independently influence whether individuals adopt adaptive or maladaptive coping responses. However, to date, researchers have not considered how demographics and personality could interact to influence COVID-19 coping responses. In a sample of 516 North American young adults, we found direct links from two demographic factors (i.e., income and having children) and from multiple personality traits (as captured by the HEXACO model) to adaptive and maladaptive COVID-19 coping responses. We also found that personality indirectly linked a broader range of demographic factors (income, age, gender, having children) with COVID-19 coping responses. We encourage future research on COVID-19 coping responses to consider not just the individual contributions of demographics and personality, but their interdependent influence on whether individuals adopt more or less adaptive COVID-19 pandemic coping responses.

Cyberbullying, cyber aggression, and cyber victimization in relation to adolescents' dating and sexual behavior: An evolutionary perspective.

This study examined adolescents' cyberbullying, cyber aggression, and cyber victimization from an evolutionary perspective, extending previous research showing that traditional forms of bullying, aggression, and victimization are associated with reproductively relevant outcomes. Consistent with hypotheses based on theory and research linking bullying and aggression to intrasexual competition for mates, results indicated that cyber victimization was positively associated with a number of dating and sexual partners. Findings for cyber aggression were more complex, depending on the degree of cyber victimization experienced by the perpetrator, and the balance of power between the perpetrator and victim. Specifically, nonbullying cyber aggression by perpetrators with equal or less power than the victim had stronger positive relations with the number of dating or sexual partners when perpetrators experienced a high level of cyber victimhood. In contrast, cyberbullying by perpetrators with more power than the victim was negatively associated with the number of dating partners when the perpetrators' exposure to cyber victimization was low. Although cyber aggression and cyber victimization are new forms of aggression that involve the use of modern electronic devices, the results of this study demonstrate the usefulness of viewing this behavior from an evolutionary perspective and show that adolescents are likely to use cyber aggression against rivals in the context of intrasexual competition for mates.

A scalable multi-photon coincidence detector based on superconducting nanowires.

Coincidence detection of single photons is crucial in numerous quantum technologies and usually requires multiple time-resolved single-photon detectors. However, the electronic readout becomes a major challenge when the measurement basis scales to large numbers of spatial modes. Here, we address this problem by introducing a two-terminal coincidence detector that enables scalable readout of an array of detector segments based on superconducting nanowire microstrip transmission line. Exploiting timing logic, we demonstrate a sixteen-element detector that resolves all 136 possible single-photon and two-photon coincidence events. We further explore the pulse shapes of the detector output and resolve up to four-photon events in a four-element device, giving the detector photon-number-resolving capability. This new detector architecture and operating scheme will be particularly useful for multi-photon coincidence detection in large-scale photonic integrated circuits.

Differences of Cutaneous Two-Point Discrimination Thresholds Among Students in Different Years of a Chiropractic Program.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate if there were differences in the two-point discrimination (2-PD) of fingers among students at different stages of a chiropractic program. METHODS: This study measured 2-PD thresholds for the dominant and nondominant index finger and dominant and nondominant forearm in groups of students in a 4-year chiropractic program at the International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Measurements were made using digital calipers mounted on a modified weighing scale. Group comparisons were made among students for each year of the program (years 1, 2, 3, and 4). Analysis of the 2-PD threshold for differences among the year groups was performed with analysis of variance. RESULTS: The mean 2-PD threshold of the index finger was higher in the students who were in the higher year groups. Dominant-hand mean values for year 1 were 2.93 ± 0.04 mm and 1.69 ± 0.02 mm in year 4. There were significant differences at finger sites (P < .05) among all year groups compared with year 1. There were no significant differences measured at the dominant forearm between any year groups (P = .08). The nondominant fingers of the year groups 1, 2, and 4 showed better 2-PD compared with the dominant finger. There was a significant difference (P = .005) between the nondominant (1.93 ± 1.15) and dominant (2.27 ± 1.14) fingers when all groups were combined (n = 104). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrated that the finger 2-PD of the chiropractic students later in the program was more precise than that of students in the earlier program.

Superconductor-superconductor bilayers for enhancing single-photon detection.

Here, we optimized ultrathin films of granular NbN on SiO2 and of amorphous αW5Si3. We showed that hybrid superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) made of 2 nm thick αW5Si3 films over 2 nm thick NbN films exhibit advantageous coexistence of timing (<5 ns reset time and 52 ps timing jitter) and efficiency (>96% quantum efficiency) performance. We discuss the governing mechanism of this hybridization via the proximity effect. Our results demonstrate saturated SNSPDs performance at 1550 nm optical wavelength and suggest that such hybridization can significantly expand the range of available superconducting properties, impacting other nano-superconducting technologies. Lastly, this hybridization may be used to tune properties, such as the amorphous character of superconducting films.

Physical and relational bullying and victimization: Differential relations with adolescent dating and sexual behavior.

Taking an evolutionary psychological perspective, we investigated whether involvement in bullying as a perpetrator or victim was more likely if adolescents reported having more dating and sexual partners than their peers, an indication of greater engagement in competition for mates. A total of 334 adolescents (173 boys, 160 girls) between the ages of 12 and 16 years (M = 13.6, SD = 1.3), recruited from community youth organizations, completed self-report measures of physical and relational bullying and victimization, as well as dating and sexual behavior. As predicted, pure physical bullying was positively associated with the number of dating and sexual partners, primarily for adolescent boys. Adolescent girls with more dating partners had greater odds of being relational bully-victims, in line with predictions. Finally, adolescent girls with more sexual partners were at greater risk of being physically victimized by peers, and greater involvement with dating and sexual partners was associated with higher odds of being a physical bully-victim. Results are discussed with respect to evolutionary theory and research in which adolescent boys may display strength and athleticism through physical bullying to facilitate intersexual selection, whereas relational bullying may be employed as a strategy to engage in intrasexual competition with rivals for mates. Aggr. Behav. 43:111-122, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A survey of the perceptions and behaviors of chiropractic interns pertaining to evidence-based principles in clinical decision making.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored how chiropractic interns applied evidenced-based concepts, the sources of evidence they used, and how useful they perceived these sources to be in clinical decision making. METHODS: A questionnaire containing 13 items in a Likert 5-point scale was administered to 28 chiropractic interns to gather information on the evidence types they commonly accessed and their perceived usefulness of these sources in clinical decision making. The interns were in the 8th semester of the training program. RESULTS: There was a 93% (n = 26) response rate. Clinical guidelines were rated as the most helpful resource in clinical decision making (81%), followed by lecture materials (77%), journals (54%), databases (50%), and textbooks (35%). Students recognized scientific evidence as the most important aspect in clinical decision making. They found their personal experience and the views of their clinician to be equally important and patient preference the least. CONCLUSION: Interns routinely employed high-quality levels of evidence in clinical decision making. They also considered their early, limited clinical experience as important as that of their clinical supervisor in decision making. This finding should be investigated further.

Free-space-coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors for infrared optical communications.

This paper describes the construction of a cryostat and an optical system with a free-space coupling efficiency of 56.5% ± 3.4% to a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) for infrared quantum communication and spectrum analysis. A 1K pot decreases the base temperature to T = 1.7 K from the 2.9 K reached by the cold head cooled by a pulse-tube cryocooler. The minimum spot size coupled to the detector chip was 6.6 ± 0.11 µm starting from a fiber source at wavelength, λ = 1.55 µm. We demonstrated photon counting on a detector with an 8 × 7.3 µm2 area. We measured a dark count rate of 95 ± 3.35 kcps and a system detection efficiency of 1.64% ± 0.13%. We explain the key steps that are required to improve further the coupling efficiency.

Infrared transmissometer to measure the thickness of NbN thin films.

We present an optical setup that can be used to characterize the thicknesses of thin NbN films to screen samples for fabrication and to better model the performance of the resulting superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. The infrared transmissometer reported here is easy to use, gives results within minutes, and is nondestructive. Thus, the thickness measurement can be easily integrated into the workflow of deposition and characterization. Comparison to a similar visible-wavelength transmissometer is provided.

On-chip detection of non-classical light by scalable integration of single-photon detectors.

Photonic-integrated circuits have emerged as a scalable platform for complex quantum systems. A central goal is to integrate single-photon detectors to reduce optical losses, latency and wiring complexity associated with off-chip detectors. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are particularly attractive because of high detection efficiency, sub-50-ps jitter and nanosecond-scale reset time. However, while single detectors have been incorporated into individual waveguides, the system detection efficiency of multiple SNSPDs in one photonic circuit-required for scalable quantum photonic circuits-has been limited to <0.2%. Here we introduce a micrometer-scale flip-chip process that enables scalable integration of SNSPDs on a range of photonic circuits. Ten low-jitter detectors are integrated on one circuit with 100% device yield. With an average system detection efficiency beyond 10%, and estimated on-chip detection efficiency of 14-52% for four detectors operated simultaneously, we demonstrate, to the best of our knowledge, the first on-chip photon correlation measurements of non-classical light.

Adolescent Bullying, Dating, and Mating : Testing an Evolutionary Hypothesis.

Traditionally believed to be the result of maladaptive development, bullying perpetration is increasingly being viewed as a potentially adaptive behavior. We were interested in determining whether adolescents who bully others enjoy a key evolutionary benefit: increased dating and mating (sexual) opportunities. This hypothesis was tested in two independent samples consisting of 334 adolescents and 144 university students. The data partly supported our prediction that bullying, but not victimization, would predict dating behavior. The data for sexual behavior more clearly supported our hypothesis that bullying behavior predicts an increase in sexual opportunities even when accounting for age, sex, and self-reports of attractiveness, likeability, and peer victimization. These results are generally congruent with the hypothesis that bullying perpetration is, at least in part, an evolutionary adaptive behavior.

Relations between adolescent ratings of Rothbart's temperament questionnaire and the HEXACO personality inventory.

Conventionally, individual differences have been assessed using temperament measures for infants and children, and personality measures for adults. We chose to explore both temperament and personality to see whether a convergence exists specifically during adolescence. A sample of 225 adolescents completed Rothbart's Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R), a 4-factor temperament scale, and the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO PI-R), a 6-factor personality scale. As hypothesized, we found significant relations between the 2 measures. However, there were some important differences between the 2 measures regarding Honesty-Humility, Openness, and Frustration that highlight the unique contributions of both instruments to understanding and measuring adolescent individual differences. As there is a relatively scant history of measuring temperament or personality in adolescence, it is sometimes difficult for researchers to decide which instrument is most appropriate. The results reported here suggest that either the EATQ-R or the HEXACO PI-R could be appropriate, depending on the specific research questions being asked.

Eight-fold signal amplification of a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector using a multiple-avalanche architecture.

Superconducting nanowire avalanche single-photon detectors (SNAPs) with n parallel nanowires are advantageous over single-nanowire detectors because their output signal amplitude scales linearly with n. However, the SNAP architecture has not been viably demonstrated for n > 4. To increase n for larger signal amplification, we designed a multi-stage, successive-avalanche architecture which used nanowires, connected via choke inductors in a binary-tree layout. We demonstrated an avalanche detector with n = 8 parallel nanowires and achieved eight-fold signal amplification, with a timing jitter of 54 ps.

Efficient single photon detection from 500 nm to 5 µm wavelength.

We report on superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) based on 30 nm wide nanowires with detection efficiency η ∼ 2.6-5.5% in the wavelength range λ = 0.5-5 µm. We compared the sensitivity of 30 nm wide SNSPDs with the sensitivity of SNSPDs based on wider (85 and 50 nm wide) nanowires for λ = 0.5-5 µm. The detection efficiency of the detectors based on the wider nanowires became negligible at shorter wavelengths than the 30 nm wide SNSPDs. Our 30 nm wide SNSPDs showed 2 orders of magnitude higher detection efficiency (η ∼ 2%) up to longer wavelength (λ = 5 µm) than previously reported. On the basis of our simulations, we expect that by changing the optical coupling scheme and by integrating the detectors in an optical cavity, the detection efficiency of our detectors could be increased by a factor of ∼6.

Is adolescent bullying an evolutionary adaptation?

Bullying appears to be ubiquitous across cultures, involving hundreds of millions of adolescents worldwide, and has potentially serious negative consequences for its participants (particularly victims). We challenge the traditionally held belief that bullying results from maladaptive development by reviewing evidence that bullying may be, in part, an evolved, facultative, adaptive strategy that offers some benefits to its practitioners. In support of this view, we draw from research that suggests bullying serves to promote adolescent bullies' evolutionarily-relevant somatic, sexual, and dominance goals, has a genetic basis, and is widespread among nonhuman animals. We identify and explain differences in the bullying behavior of the two sexes, as well as when and why bullying is adaptive and when it may not be. We offer commentary on both the failures and successes of current anti-bullying interventions from an evolutionary perspective and suggest future directions for both research and anti-bullying interventions.

Evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: the role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior.

We studied indirect victimization from an evolutionary perspective by examining links between this type of victimization and several indicators of attractiveness (past sexual behavior, dating frequency and physical appearance). Two thousand three hundred and nineteen (56% female) students (ages 13-18) from a region of southern Ontario, Canada, completed self-report measures of indirect victimization, physical appearance, dating frequency, recent sexual behavior (number of partners in previous month) and past sexual behavior (number of lifetime partners minus number of partners in previous month) as well as indexes of depression, aggression and attachment security, which were used to control for psychosocial maladjustment. Consistent with an evolutionary framework, physical appearance interacted significantly with gender, wherein attractive females were at greater risk for indirect victimization, whereas for males physical attractiveness was a protective factor, reducing risk of victimization. Physical appearance also interacted with grade, being inversely related to indirect victimization for younger adolescents and having a nonsignificant association with victimization for older youth. Finally, recent sexual behavior was associated with increased risk of indirect victimization for older adolescents only, which we discussed with regard to peer perceptions of promiscuity and short-term mating strategies. These findings have important implications for the development of interventions designed to reduce peer victimization, in that victims of indirect aggression may represent a rather broad, heterogeneous group, including attractive individuals with no obvious signs of maladjustment.