Estate regeneration and social value

Home Group is committed to assessing the social value to low income communities of regeneration and upgrading. This research was commissioned by Home Group and closely links to their recently developed “Customer Promise”. That approach is aimed at further empowering their customers who drive the process. The research was commissioned to explore how Home Group could apply the approach to their Regeneration programme

Enhanced 2-categories and limits for lax morphisms

We study limits in 2-categories whose objects are categories with extra structure and whose morphisms are functors preserving the structure only up to a coherent comparison map, which may or may not be required to be invertible. This is done using the framework of 2-monads. In order to characterize the limits which exist in this context, we need to consider also the functors which do strictly preserve the extra structure. We show how such a 2-category of weak morphisms which is "enhanced", by specifying which of these weak morphisms are actually strict, can be thought of as category enriched over a particular base cartesian closed category F. We give a complete characterization, in terms of F-enriched category theory, of the limits which exist in such 2-categories of categories with extra structure.Comment: 77 pages; v2 minor changes only, to appear in Advance

A colimit decomposition for homotopy algebras in Cat

Badzioch showed that in the category of simplicial sets each homotopy algebra of a Lawvere theory is weakly equivalent to a strict algebra. In seeking to extend this result to other contexts Rosicky observed a key point to be that each homotopy colimit in simplicial sets admits a decomposition into a homotopy sifted colimit of finite coproducts, and asked the author whether a similar decomposition holds in the 2-category of categories Cat. Our purpose in the present paper is to show that this is the case.Comment: Some notation changed; small amount of exposition added in intr

Exploring the dynamics of compliance with community penalties

In this paper, we examine how compliance with community penalties has been theorized hitherto and seek to develop a new dynamic model of compliance with community penalties. This new model is developed by exploring some of the interfaces between existing criminological and socio-legal work on compliance. The first part of the paper examines the possible definitions and dimensions of compliance with community supervision. Secondly, we examine existing work on explanations of compliance with community penalties, supplementing this by drawing on recent socio-legal scholarship on private individuals’ compliance with tax regimes. In the third part of the paper, we propose a dynamic model of compliance, based on the integration of these two related analyses. Finally, we consider some of the implications of our model for policy and practice concerning community penalties, suggesting the need to move beyond approaches which, we argue, suffer from compliance myopia; that is, a short-sighted and narrowly focused view of the issues

Adolescent brain development

Adolescence starts with puberty and ends when individuals attain an independent role in society. Cognitive neuroscience research in the last two decades has improved our understanding of adolescent brain development. The evidence indicates a prolonged structural maturation of grey matter and white matter tracts supporting higher cognitive functions such as cognitive control and social cognition. These changes are associated with a greater strengthening and separation of brain networks, both in terms of structure and function, as well as improved cognitive skills. Adolescent-specific sub-cortical reactivity to emotions and rewards, contrasted with their developing self-control skills, are thought to account for their greater sensitivity to the socio-affective context. The present review examines these findings and their implications for training interventions and education

Social isolation in childhood and adult inflammation: Evidence from the National Child Development Study

Background: Social isolation is known to be associated with poorer health amongst adults, including coronary heart disease. It is hypothesized that this association may be mediated by inflammation. There has been little prospective research on the long-term impact of social isolation in childhood on adult health or the pathways which might be involved. The aim of this study was to investigate whether social isolation in childhood is associated with increased adult inflammation and the mechanisms involved across the life course. Methods: This study used multiply-imputed data on 7462 participants of the National Child Development Study in Great Britain. The association between child social isolation (7-11. yrs) and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in middle age (44. yrs) was examined. We additionally investigated the role of adult social isolation, psychological distress, health behaviors and socioeconomic factors as potential mediators using path analysis and concurrent measurements made across the life course. Results: Socially isolated children had higher levels of C-reactive protein in mid-life (standardized coefficient. =. 0.05, p≤. 0.001). In addition, children who were socially isolated tended to have lower subsequent educational attainment, be in a less advantaged social class in adulthood, were more likely to be psychologically distressed across adulthood and were more likely to be obese and to smoke. All of these factors partially explained the association between childhood social isolation and CRP. However, this association remained statistically significant after considering all mediators simultaneously. Conclusions: Social isolation in childhood is associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein in mid-life. This is explained in part through complex mechanisms acting across the life course. Identification and interventions targeted toward socially isolated children may help reduce long-term adult health risk

Handling Uncertainty of Strategic Ambitions—The Use of Organizational Identity as a Risk-Reducing Device

Organizational identity can be designed to reduce the risks of uncertainty about future states of public organizations and the inherent potential issues related to evaluation and assessment. As such, organizational identity may shape a congruent and credible self-representation of the university, where a consistent narrative articulates compliance to diverse institutional frameworks, commitment to organizational distinctiveness, and a sensible rationale for strategic change. By examining the strategic plans of four European universities over a 10-year period of major organizational change, the paper discusses the subtleties of the specific combinations of the three different functions and the implications for institutional leadership