What Makes for Effective Youth Mentoring Programmes: A rapid evidence summary

There is a large body of research, policy and comment on youth mentoring schemes. Despite this, there is very little evidence on whether such programmes work and, if they do, what makes them effective. This rapid review of the literature explores the existing evidence around what factors make youth mentoring (or intergenerational) programmes effective. We found that youth mentoring programmes can improve outcomes across academic, behavioural, emotional and social areas of young people’s lives. These impacts are small, but nevertheless significant. There is no evidence that youth mentoring programmes can improve physical health, although few studies examine this particular outcome. The evidence provides a number of insights into what makes youth mentoring programmes effective, including that longer mentoring relationships are associated with better outcomes, the importance of training and motivation, the need for goal-orientated programmes and the key role of the matching process

The effects of using examination grade as a primary outcome in education trials to evaluate school-based interventions

This paper aims to assess the impact of using GCSE grades as a primary outcome in educational evaluations and trials, compared to using marks. The choice of grades or marks is relevant as many evaluations use GCSE performance as an outcome measure. For such evaluations, the National Pupil Database (NPD) is used as a source of data by the vast majority, and it contains grade information only; no information on the underlying mark distribution is available. The use of the NPD has largely been a pragmatic choice, as historically it has been comparatively easy to access grades via the NPD than gather marks (or indeed grades) from schools or awarding organisations. However, there has been little consideration of whether only having access to grade information, as opposed to the marks, has consequences for evaluations. This paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature

Social Impact Bonds 2.0? Findings from a study of four UK SIBs

This briefing paper draws together ideas about the next generation of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) that will be better placed to deliver more innovative approaches and act as positive disruptors in local public services. It is based on research in four SIBs managed by Bridges Fund Management (Bridges) and ideas developed by researchers at the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation at the University of Southern California

Can a focus on co-created, strengths-based services facilitate early-stage innovation within social impact bonds?

While many commentators recognize the potential for Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) to encourage innovation, empirical evidence is less clear cut. We argue that for SIBs to realize their full potential as incubators of innovation they needed to incorporate a stronger element of co-creation and strengths-based working, and suggest some accompanying characteristics of such SIBs. We analyze four UK SIBs as case studies that exhibit these characteristics. We find that within the cases strengths-based service delivery models were successfully implemented through SIBs; alongside this we found extensive evidence of co-production but limited evidence of co-creation. Strengths-based working, including co-production, helped the SIBs to catalyze early stage innovation. We identify several elements of SIB design which were instrumental in supporting strengths-based practices and could also support co-creation: greater autonomy for service providers; shifting risk to investors; use of a rate card; and long-term, flexible funding. Our findings challenge those who are skeptical about the potential for SIBs to provide a setting in which people who use services and frontline service providers are empowered to re-engineer public services and contest current systems

Relating spin-polarized STM imaging and inelastic neutron scattering in the van-der-Waals ferromagnet Fe3GeTe2

C.T. and P.W. acknowledge funding through Grants No. EP/R031924/1 and No. EP/T031441/1, L.C.R. through the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, I.B. through the International Max Planck Research School for Chemistry and Physics of Quantum Materials, and H.L. through the ISIS facility development studentship program.Van-der-Waals (vdW) ferromagnets have enabled the development of heterostructures assembled from exfoliated monolayers with spintronics functionalities, making it important to understand and ultimately tune their magnetic properties at the microscopic level. Information about the magnetic properties of these systems comes so far largely from macroscopic techniques, with little being known about the microscopic magnetic properties. Here, we combine spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and quasi-particle interference imaging with neutron scattering to establish the magnetic and electronic properties of the metallic vdW ferromagnet Fe3GeTe2. By imaging domain walls at the atomic scale, we can relate the domain wall width to the exchange interaction and magnetic anisotropy extracted from the magnon dispersion as measured in inelastic neutron scattering, with excellent agreement between the two techniques. From comparison with Density Functional Theory calculations we can assign the quasi-particle interference to be dominated by spin-majority bands. We find a dimensional dichotomy of the bands at the Fermi energy: bands of minority character are predominantly two-dimensional in character, whereas the bands of majority character are three-dimensional. We expect that this will enable new design principles for spintronics devices.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The effectiveness of abstinence‐based and harm reduction‐based interventions in reducing problematic substance use in adults who are experiencing homelessness in high income countries: a systematic review and meta‐analysis: a systematic review

Background Homelessness is a traumatic experience, and can have a devastating effect on those experiencing it. People who are homeless often face significant barriers when accessing public services, and have often experienced adverse childhood events, extreme social disadvantage, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, low self-esteem, poor physical and mental health, and much lower life expectancy compared to the general population. Rates of problematic substance use are disproportionately high, with many using drugs and alcohol to deal with the stress of living on the street, to keep warm, or to block out memories of previous abuse or trauma. Substance dependency can also create barriers to successful transition to stable housing. Objectives To understand the effectiveness of different substance use interventions for adults experiencing homelessness. Search Methods The primary source of studies for was the 4th edition of the Homelessness Effectiveness Studies Evidence and Gaps Maps (EGM). Searches for the EGM were completed in September 2021. Other potential studies were identified through a call for grey evidence, hand-searching key journals, and unpacking relevant systematic reviews. Selection Criteria Eligible studies were impact evaluations that involved some comparison group. We included studies that tested the effectiveness of substance use interventions, and measured substance use outcomes, for adults experiencing homelessness in high income countries. Data Collection and Analysis Descriptive characteristics and statistical information in included studies were coded and checked by at least two members of the review team. Studies selected for the review were assessed for confidence in the findings. Standardised effect sizes were calculated and, if a study did not provide sufficient raw data for the calculation of an effect size, author(s) were contacted to obtain these data. We used random-effects meta-analysis and robust-variance estimation procedures to synthesise effect sizes. If a study included multiple effects, we carried out a critical assessment to determine (even if only theoretically) whether the effects are likely to be dependent. Where dependent effects were identified, we used robust variance estimation to determine whether we can account for these. Where effect sizes were converted from a binary to continuous measure (or vice versa), we undertook a sensitivity analysis by running an additional analysis with these studies omitted. We also assessed the sensitivity of results to inclusion of non-randomised studies and studies classified as low confidence in findings. All included an assessment of statistical heterogeneity. Finally, we undertook analysis to assess whether publication bias was likely to be a factor in our findings. For those studies that we were unable to include in meta-analysis, we have provided a narrative synthesis of the study and its findings. Main Results We included 48 individual papers covering 34 unique studies. The studies covered 15, 255 participants, with all but one of the studies being from the United States and Canada. Most papers were rated as low confidence (n = 25, or 52%). By far the most common reason for studies being rated as low confidence was high rates of attrition and/or differential attrition of study participants, that fell below the What Works Clearinghouse liberal attrition standard. Eleven of the included studies were rated as medium confidence and 12 studies as high confidence. The interventions included in our analysis were more effective in reducing substance use than treatment as usual, with an overall effect size of –0.11 SD (95% confidence interval [CI], −0.27, 0.05). There was substantial heterogeneity across studies, and the results were sensitive to the removal of low confidence studies (−0.21 SD, 95% CI [−0.59, 0.17] − 6 studies, 17 effect sizes), the removal of quasi-experimental studies (−0.14 SD, 95% CI [−0.30, 0.02] − 14 studies, 41 effect sizes) and the removal of studies where an effect size had been converted from a binary to a continuous outcome (−0.08 SD, 95% CI [−0.31, 0.15] − 10 studies, 31 effect sizes). This suggests that the findings are sensitive to the inclusion of lower quality studies, although unusually the average effect increases when we removed low confidence studies. The average effect for abstinence-based interventions compared to treatment-as-usual (TAU) service provision was –0.28 SD (95% CI, −0.65, 0.09) (6 studies, 15 effect sizes), and for harm reduction interventions compared to a TAU service provision is close to 0 at 0.03 SD (95% CI, −0.08, 0.14) (9 studies, 30 effect sizes). The confidence intervals for both estimates are wide and crossing zero. For both, the comparison groups are primarily abstinence-based, with the exception of two studies where the comparison group condition was unclear. We found that both Assertative Community Treatment and Intensive Case Management were no better than treatment as usual, with average effect on substance use of 0.03 SD, 95% CI [−0.07, 0.13] and –0.47 SD, 95% CI [−0.72, −0.21] 0.05 SD, 95% CI [−0.28, 0.39] respectively. These findings are consistent with wider research, and it is important to note that we only examined the effect on substance use outcomes (these interventions can be effective in terms of other outcomes). We found that CM interventions can be effective in reducing substance use compared to treatment as usual, with an average effect of –0.47 SD, 95% CI (−0.72, −0.21). All of these results need to be considered in light of the quality of the underlying evidence. There were six further interventions where we undertook narrative synthesis. These syntheses suggest that Group Work, Harm Reduction Psychotherapy, and Therapeutic Communities are effective in reducing substance use, with mixed results found for Motivational Interviewing and Talking Therapies (including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). The narrative synthesis suggested that Residential Rehabilitation was no better than treatment as usual in terms of reducing substance use for our population of interest. Authors' Conclusions Although our analysis of harm reduction versus treatment as usual, abstinence versus treatment as usual, and harm reduction versus abstinence suggests that these different approaches make little real difference to the outcomes achieved in comparison to treatment as usual. The findings suggest that some individual interventions are more effective than others. The overall low quality of the primary studies suggests that further primary impact research could be beneficial

Comparison of advanced gravitational-wave detectors

We compare two advanced designs for gravitational-wave antennas in terms of their ability to detect two possible gravitational wave sources. Spherical, resonant mass antennas and interferometers incorporating resonant sideband extraction (RSE) were modeled using experimentally measurable parameters. The signal-to-noise ratio of each detector for a binary neutron star system and a rapidly rotating stellar core were calculated. For a range of plausible parameters we found that the advanced LIGO interferometer incorporating RSE gave higher signal-to-noise ratios than a spherical detector resonant at the same frequency for both sources. Spheres were found to be sensitive to these sources at distances beyond our galaxy. Interferometers were sensitive to these sources at far enough distances that several events per year would be expected

Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016-2020 parliamentary debates

Objective: The UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) (announced in March 2016; implemented in April 2018) aims to incentivise reformulation of soft drinks to reduce added sugar levels. The SDIL has been applauded as a policy success, and it has survived calls from parliamentarians for it to be repealed. We aimed to explore parliamentary reaction to the SDIL following its announcement until two years post-implementation in order to understand how health policy can become established and resilient to opposition. Design: Searches of Hansard for parliamentary debate transcripts that discussed the SDIL retrieved 186 transcripts, with 160 included after screening. Five stages of Applied Thematic Analysis were conducted: familiarisation and creation of initial codebooks; independent second coding; codebook finalisation through team consensus; final coding of the dataset to the complete codebook; and theme finalisation through team consensus. Setting: The United Kingdom Parliament. Participants: N/A Results: Between the announcement (16/03/2016) – royal assent (26/04/2017), two themes were identified 1: SDIL welcomed cross-party 2: SDIL a good start but not enough. Between royal assent – implementation (5/04/2018), one theme was identified 3: The SDIL worked – what next? The final theme identified from implementation until 16/03/2020 was 4: Moving on from the SDIL. Conclusions: After the announcement, the SDIL had cross-party support and was recognised to have encouraged reformulation prior to implementation. Lessons for governments indicate that the combination of cross-party support and a policy’s documented success in achieving its aim can help cement the resilience of it to opposition and threats of repeal

Prevention and early detection of prostate cancer

This Review was sponsored and funded by the International Society of Cancer Prevention (ISCaP), the European Association of Urology (EAU), the National Cancer Institute, USA (NCI) (grant number 1R13CA171707-01), Prostate Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) (grant number C569/A16477), and the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR