Showing papers in "Eureka in 2012"

Gender-specific treatment for female young offenders

Abstract: The rate of female youth being charged with serious violent crimes in Canada has more than doubled since 1986, rising from 60 per 100, 000 to 132 per 100, 000 by 2005 (Kong & AuCoin, 2008). These numbers are much lower in comparison to male young offenders, but the increasing number of female youth entering the juvenile justice system calls for increased attention. Because the juvenile justice system has consisted of mostly males, the system is geared towards males and the specific needs of female young offenders have been overlooked. Researchers have argued that although both sexes may commit the same violent crimes, such as murder and assault, they are gender-specific in their development and are therefore gender-specific in their pathways to offending as well (Belknap & Holsinger, 1998). Nonetheless, male delinquency is seen as a behavioral issue that is dealt with through rehabilitation programs that focuses on behavior modification, whereas female delinquency is pathologized and seen as a psychiatric problem (Hartwig & Myers, 2003). Thus, many young female offenders do not receive the gender-specific programs that they need. Moreover, the treatment literature on female young offenders is scarce in comparison to male young offenders. Although there has been heightened interest in the idea of gender-specific treatment groups for incarcerated female youth, few programs have been implemented in Canada. Many of the groups for female young offenders in the United States concentrate on specific issues such as substance abuse, not a wide range of topics that this population are affected by and/or focused on preventing delinquent behavior in non-offending girls. Thus, research on the specific needs of female young offenders is required to inform treatment that targets the unique needs of this booming population. Informing a gender-specific programming begins with an increased understanding of how female young offenders differ from male young offenders in essential areas such as their trauma exposure, psychopathology, potential pathways to delinquency, and gender constructs. Trauma Female young offenders have reported experiencing a significant amount of trauma in their lives. Ariga et al’s (2007) study on trauma exposure indicated that 76.5% of the delinquent female adolescents had experienced a traumatic experience, with sexual abuse being the most frequently reported (54.7%). High reports of sexual abuse among young female offenders have been indicated in many

Infrared non-invasive sub-wavelength microscopy with metamaterials

Abstract: I demonstrate that hyperbolic metamaterials may provide the solution to the long-standing prob- lem of the fundamental diffraction limit plaguing conventional microscopy and optical imaging sys- tems. Presented here is the formalism of the theory, classical electrodynamics, used to describe the diffraction limit and sub-wavelength imaging using hyperbolic metamaterials. Effective medium theory is then derived and put forth as a design method for such hyperbolic metamaterials. I then outline the design of a planar device based on a hyperbolic metamaterial for use in infrared mi- croscopy, and present numerical simulations to demonstrate the behaviour and performance of the device. The device employs multilayers of InGaAs/AlInAs and is capable of sub-diffraction imaging resolution in the wavelength range of 8.8 - 10.5 μm. I show that high spatial frequency waves, which normally decay in vacuum, are allowed to propagate and reach the far-field in a hyperbolic meta- material. Using a Green’s function formalism to describe optical sources, sub-wavelength imaging capabilities of hyperbolic metamaterials is shown. Finally, potential device applications using the designed metamaterial are motivated.