Measuring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Twitter

Measuring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Twitter (PDF)
Source: Johns Hopkins University (International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM) – 2014)

Traditional mental health studies rely on information primarily collected through personal contact with a health care professional. Recent work has shown the utility of social media data for studying depression, but there have been limited evaluations of other mental health conditions. We consider post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a serious condition that affects millions worldwide, with especially high rates in military veterans. We also present a novel method to obtain a PTSD classifier for social media using simple searches of available Twitter data, a significant reduction in training data cost compared to previous work. We demonstrate its utility by examining differences in language use between PTSD and random individuals, building classifiers to separate these two groups and by detecting elevated rates of PTSD at and around U.S. military bases using our classifiers.

100 Best Practices in Child Protection

100 Best Practices in Child Protection (PDF)
Source: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (The Protection Project) and International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children

Children are among our most vulnerable populations. The injustices many children suffer are unspeakable and occur in all corners of the globe, in all walks of life. The term “child protection” is very broad and can encompass a wide range of issues. Custody and support, child abuse and neglect, violence against children, child prostitution, child pornography, sex tourism, child labor, and trafficking in children are just some of the issues that arise when discussing child protection. Civil society organizations and government agencies are actively working around the world to address many of these problems and to better provide broad protections for children.

The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children encourage the dissemination of information on child protection best practices. This guide is intended to offer examples of some successful initiatives undertaken by civil society organizations as well as individuals and government agencies concerned with protecting children around the world.

The document is divided into seven parts—Part I focuses on child protection principles and definitions; Part II highlights several child protection measures and services; Part III presents initiatives focused on the protection of children in the family and community; Part IV looks at programs aimed at the protection of children from sexual exploitation; Part V includes examples of projects focused on the protection of children from economic exploitation; Part VI looks at the protection of children in situations of emergency, including armed conflict; and Part VII features the protection of children in the justice system. This division of issues follows the topics addressed by the “Child Protection Model Law – Best Practices: Protection of Children from Neglect, Abuse, Maltreatment, and Exploitation” another publication based on a joint research inititative of The Protection Project and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

“They Have Made the Problems Worse” — Analysis of impact of Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production finds Administration and Congress have exacerbated problems in the food system

“They Have Made the Problems Worse” — Analysis of impact of Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production finds Administration and Congress have exacerbated problems in the food system
Source: Johns Hopkins University

Five years after the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP) released its landmark recommendations to remedy the public health, environment, animal welfare and rural community problems caused by industrial food animal production, a new analysis by Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future (CLF) finds that the Administration and Congress have acted “regressively” in policymaking on industrial food animal system issues. The original report, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America, was released in April 2008 and detailed myriad problems caused by the present industrial food animal production model. CLF began its analysis, Industrial Food Animal Production in America: Examining the Impact of the Pew Commission’s Priority Recommendations, late last year.

Robert S. Lawrence, MD, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, which produced the report, said, “There has been an appalling lack of progress. The failure to act by the USDA and FDA, the lack of action or concern by the Congress, and continued intransigence of the animal agriculture industry have made all of our problems worse.”

Holding the Fort: Nonprofit Employment During a Decade of Turmoil

Holding the Fort: Nonprofit Employment During a Decade of Turmoil (PDF)
Source: Johns Hopkins University (Center for Civil Studies)

This report presents previously unavailable data on year-to-year changes in employment in private, nonprofit establishments in the United States from January 2000 through June 2010, with a special focus on how nonprofit employment fared during the 2007-2009 recession.

Fewer States Holding Alcohol Retailers Responsible for Harms from Illegal Service

Fewer States Holding Alcohol Retailers Responsible for Harms from Illegal Service
Source: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Fewer states are holding alcohol retailers liable for harms caused by customers who were served illegally, according to a new report from researchers at Alcohol Policy Consultations and the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Published online by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the legal research study documents the gradual erosion of commercial host liability (also referred to as dram shop liability) from 1989 to 2011.

Commercial host liability holds alcohol retailers liable for alcohol-attributable harms resulting from illegal alcohol sales to patrons who are intoxicated or underage at the time of service. It applies to both on-premise (bars, restaurants and clubs) and off-premise locations. The Community Preventive Services Task Force recently determined that commercial host liability was effective in reducing a range of harms from alcohol in states that have it, including a median six percent drop in alcohol-related motor vehicle crash deaths.

The report found that in recent years many states enacted legislation to protect retailers from commercial host liability by increasing the evidentiary requirements, limiting the amount of liability awards and/or protecting certain retailers from liability. For example, between 1989 and 2011, the number of states that recognized liability for serving intoxicated adults without restrictions declined from 25 to 21, and states with one of these major restrictions increased from 11 to 16. Maps illustrating the erosion of these laws can be accessed at the CAMY website at http://www.camy.org/action/commercial-host-liability/.