Child Abuse and Neglect in the UK Today

This report presents new research findings from the NSPCC on child maltreatment in the United Kingdom, looking specifically at the prevalence and impact of severe maltreatment. We found that the rates of child maltreatment reported by young adults aged 18–24 were lower in 2009 than in 1998, suggesting maltreatment may be less prevalent today. However, significant minorities of children and young people in the UK today are experiencing severe maltreatment and this is associated with poorer emotional wellbeing, self-harm, suicidal ideation and delinquent behaviour

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Using Peer-Dialogue Assessment (PDA) for Improving Pre-Service Teachers\u27 Perceived Confidence and Competence to Teach Physical Education

Developing effective methods for improving student learning in higher education is a priority. Recent findings have shown that feedback on student work can effectively facilitate learning if students are engaged as active participants in the feedback cycle; where they seek, generate and use feedback in the form of dialogue. This novel study investigates the use of peer dialogue assessment as an assessment for learning tool used in an existing undergraduate physical education course. Our findings demonstrate that when thirty six undergraduate physical education students were provided with instruction and practice using peer dialogue assessment after consecutive teaching performances, they exhibit significant improvements in perceived teaching confidence and competence, and teaching self-efficacy. Process evaluation results implying thatembedding peer dialogue assessment in higher education courses may be a feasible approach for facilitating learning, and that students were satisfied with using peer dialogue as a feedback method for improving teaching practices

Diversity of Fe2+ entry and oxidation in ferritins

The essential metal iron presents two major problems for life: it is potentially highly toxic due to its redox activity, and its extremely low solubility in aqueous solution in the presence of O2 can make it hard to acquire and store safely. Ferritins are part of nature’s answer to these problems, as they store iron in a safe but accessible form in all types of cells. How they achieve this has been the subject of intense research for several decades. Here, we highlight recent progress in elucidating the routes by which Fe2+ ions access the catalytic ferroxidase centers, and the mechanisms by which Fe2+ is oxidized. Emerging from this is a picture of diversity, both in terms of Fe2+ entry pathways and the roles played by the structurally distinct diiron ferroxidase centers

Applying Deep Learning To Airbnb Search

The application to search ranking is one of the biggest machine learning success stories at Airbnb. Much of the initial gains were driven by a gradient boosted decision tree model. The gains, however, plateaued over time. This paper discusses the work done in applying neural networks in an attempt to break out of that plateau. We present our perspective not with the intention of pushing the frontier of new modeling techniques. Instead, ours is a story of the elements we found useful in applying neural networks to a real life product. Deep learning was steep learning for us. To other teams embarking on similar journeys, we hope an account of our struggles and triumphs will provide some useful pointers. Bon voyage!Comment: 8 page

Development of a readiness ruler for use with alcohol brief interventions

Background A quick method of assessing readiness to change was needed for a major study of implementing screening and alcohol brief intervention in England. For this purpose, a Readiness Ruler that had been validated among a sample of male college students in the USA was adapted and applied to a sample of excessive drinkers in a general medical practice located in a deprived area of Gateshead, England. Methods 72 participants identified as excessive drinkers by health professionals completed a single-item Readiness Ruler, the 12-item Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCQ) and the AUDIT questionnaire. Results In terms of concurrent validity, the relationships between the Readiness Ruler, on the one hand, and either stage of change allocation or a dimensional score derived from the RCQ, on the other hand, were highly significant but weaker than expected. When patients who endorsed the “maintenance” point on the Readiness Ruler were excluded from the analysis, the above relationships were considerably strengthened for reasons that are discussed. On this basis and with another small change, a final Readiness Ruler was developed. Conclusion If the validity of the Readiness Ruler is confirmed in subsequent research, a quick and simple way of measuring readiness to change will be available for research or clinical work with alcohol brief interventions

Routes of iron entry into, and exit from, the catalytic ferroxidase sites of the prokaryotic ferritin SynFtn

Ferritins are multimers comprised of 4 α-helical bundle monomers that co-assemble to form protein shells surrounding an approximately spherical internal cavity. The assembled multimers acquire Fe2+ from their surroundings by utilising channels that penetrate the protein for the transportation of iron to diiron catalytic centres buried within the monomeric units. Here oxidation of the substrate to Fe3+ is coupled to the reduction of O2 and/or peroxide to yield the precursor to a ferric oxy hydroxide mineral that is stored within the internal cavity. The rhombic dodecahedral quaternary structure results in channels of 4-fold and 3-fold symmetry, located at the vertices, which are common to all 24mer-ferritins. Ferritins isolated from higher eukaryotes have been demonstrated to take up Fe2+ via the 3-fold channels. One of the defining features of ferritins isolated from prokaryotes is the presence of a further 24 channels, the B-channels, and these are thought to play an important role in Fe2+ uptake in this sub-family. SynFtn is an unusual ferritin isolated from the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus CC9311. The reported structure of SynFtn derived from Fe2+ soaked crystals revealed the presence of a fully hydrated Fe2+ associated with three aspartate residues (Asp137 from each of the three symmetry related subunits) within each three-fold channel, suggesting that it might be the route for Fe2+ entry. Here, we present structural and spectro-kinetic data on two variants of SynFtn, D137A and E62A, designed to assess this possibility. Glu62 is equivalent to residues demonstrated to be important in the transfer of iron from the inner exit of the 3-fold channel to the catalytic centre in animal ferritins. As expected replacing Asp137 with a non-coordinating residue eliminated rapid iron oxidation by SynFtn. In contrast the rate of mineral core formation was severely impaired whilst the rate of iron transit into the catalytic centre was largely unaffected upon introducing a non-coordinating residue in place of Glu62 suggesting a role for this residue in release of the oxidised product. The identification of these two residues in SynFtn maps out major routes for Fe2+ entry to, and exit from, the catalytic ferroxidase centres

Band in a bubble: Putting out fires

Putting Out Fires (song) Collaborative Composition - Music and Lyrics. BAND IN A BUBBLE is a real time observational workshop, where a group of musicians from around New Zealand gather together for the first time at Wintec in Hamilton to compose, record and perform a new collection of songs. Inspired by a project that involved Australian band REGURGITATOR in Melbourne in 2004, this project is the brainchild of Wintec Music Department Lecturer, Kent Macpherson. The initial idea from was conceptually inspired by biospheres, and a desire to explore the juxtaposition between the insular artistic recording process, and the extroverted performer. To look through this process at how that might impact the creative mindset. BAND IN A BUBBLE at SPARK festival involves a number of performers from around New Zealand including: Kent Macpherson, David Sidwell, John Egenes, Reuben Bradley, Jeremy Mayall, Megan Berry, Nick Braae and Brooke Baker, as the core performers. This collaboration will be the first for this ensemble, so this experience will also include a realtime exploration of how to approach a creative collaboration from the beginning. The WIntec wharenui has been carefully selected as the venue for this project for a number of reasons. Most notably, the building has many windows which provide a certain ‘transparency’ to the actual process. The wharenui is also very central to the Wintec campus, both in a physical and spiritual sense. Most involved are also educators, as well as musicians, so the inclusion of this workshop as part of the SPARK festival will ideally facilitate an educational experience for the students and wider community. The intention is to build an environment that is a creatively fulfilling one for the people directly involved

Band in a bubble: I've been around

I've Been Around (song) Collaborative Composition - Music and Lyrics. BAND IN A BUBBLE is a real time observational workshop, where a group of musicians from around New Zealand gather together for the first time at Wintec in Hamilton to compose, record and perform a new collection of songs. Inspired by a project that involved Australian band REGURGITATOR in Melbourne in 2004, this project is the brainchild of Wintec Music Department Lecturer, Kent Macpherson. The initial idea from was conceptually inspired by biospheres, and a desire to explore the juxtaposition between the insular artistic recording process, and the extroverted performer. To look through this process at how that might impact the creative mindset. BAND IN A BUBBLE at SPARK festival involves a number of performers from around New Zealand including: Kent Macpherson, David Sidwell, John Egenes, Reuben Bradley, Jeremy Mayall, Megan Berry, Nick Braae and Brooke Baker, as the core performers. This collaboration will be the first for this ensemble, so this experience will also include a realtime exploration of how to approach a creative collaboration from the beginning. The WIntec wharenui has been carefully selected as the venue for this project for a number of reasons. Most notably, the building has many windows which provide a certain ‘transparency’ to the actual process. The wharenui is also very central to the Wintec campus, both in a physical and spiritual sense. Most involved are also educators, as well as musicians, so the inclusion of this workshop as part of the SPARK festival will ideally facilitate an educational experience for the students and wider community. The intention is to build an environment that is a creatively fulfilling one for the people directly involved