Children’s Designing

Following a design and technology specialist module as part of the third year of my BA (Hons) primary education at the University of Central England, this paper reports on and examines my findings concerning children’s ability to design. Part of the module involved working with a class from each key stage at a local primary school. As a group of five design and technology specialists, we planned and taught units from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) scheme of work over four lessons. The topics that we covered were:• Year 3: structures, unit 3D photograph frames• Year 2: textiles, unit 2B puppets. We were based at a Roman Catholic primary school, which is a beacon school for design and technology. The school is well-resourced, and the children are enthusiastic about their studies

Emerging adulthood : exploring the implications for care experienced young people and those who care for them

In this paper, we aim to explore some of the notions and concepts around 'emerging adulthood'; what this might mean for Scotland's care experienced young people; and what this might mean for those who care for them. Societally, transition to adulthood is a longer, more extended process than it was a few decades ago. Young people now generally live longer with their parents who tend to help with ongoing practical and financial support, as well as providing ongoing emotional and relational support and security. Changes in access to secure well-paid employment and to affordable housing and accommodation have been cited as key influencing factors. However, despite recent changes in domestic policy and legislation, too many young people growing up in alternative care – in foster care, residential care and kinship care – continue to experience their transitions from care to adulthood to be accelerated and abrupt. We set the context by exploring some definitions and offering some reflections on the concept of emerging adulthood, and what this might mean for young people transitioning from care to adulthood and interdependence. The challenges faced by our young people, and the need for extended care has become even more amplified as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit home - and as the fragility of supports, and the structural disadvantages that many care experienced young people face, have been laid bare

Editorial

Welcome to the spring 2024 issue of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care (SJRCC). It is a very full issue, with the usual mix of long-form original research papers, short articles, and book reviews. We also publish the text of the 21st Kilbrandon Lecture and a response to the lecture. As editors, we are delighted to announce that the SJRCC has been admitted to the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The Directory lists journals which meet the DOAJ quality assurance requirements and give access to trusted research without barriers. The project to prepare the web pages and to add Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to all articles in the back catalogue has been a considerable undertaking, and we are grateful to our publisher, CELCIS, and our communications team, to our colleagues at the Andersonian Library in the University of Strathclyde, and to DOAJ assessors, for their advice and support

The formation pathways of compact elliptical galaxies

Compact elliptical (cE) galaxies remain an elusively difficult galaxy class to study. Recent observations have suggested that isolated and host-associated cEs have different formation pathways, while simulation studies have also shown different pathways can lead to a cE galaxy. However a solid link has not been established, and the relative contributions of each pathway in a cosmological context remains unknown. Here we combine a spatially-resolved observational sample of cEs taken from the SAMI galaxy survey with a matched sample of galaxies within the IllustrisTNG cosmological simulation to establish an overall picture of how these galaxies form. The observed cEs located near a host galaxy appear redder, smaller and older than isolated cEs, supporting previous evidence for multiple formation pathways. Tracing the simulated cEs back through time, we find two main formation pathways; 32 $\pm$ 5 percent formed via the stripping of a spiral galaxy by a larger host galaxy, while 68 $\pm$ 4 percent formed through a gradual build-up of stellar mass in isolated environments. We confirm that cEs in different environments do indeed form via different pathways, with all isolated cEs in our sample having formed via in-situ formation (i.e. none were ejected from a previous host), and 77 $\pm$ 6 percent of host-associated cEs having formed via tidal stripping. Separating them by their formation pathway, we are able to reproduce the observed differences between isolated and host-associated cEs, showing that these differences can be fully explained by the different formation pathways dominating in each environment.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

An Appreciative Inquiry into Holding in Residential Child Care : Pilot Report

While there have long been serious concerns about the physical restraint of children in residential child care – including restraint related deaths, traumatisation or re-traumatisation for all involved and abuses of children’s rights (Steckley, 2018) – recently it appears that Scotland may be at a watershed moment in addressing this practice. In 2020, after listening to over 5,500 voices of those with experience of receiving or giving care in Scotland’s care system, the report of the Independent Care Review asserted, “Scotland must strive to become a nation that does not restrain its children” (p. 85). Restraint reduction has become a more significant focus in residential child care. This pilot study set out to identify and explore key factors in reducing or eliminating physical restraint, as well as in the successful holding, both metaphoric and literal, of children and young people in distress. It adopted an Appreciative Inquiry approach in two residential child care service sites in Scotland. It was funded by the School of Social Work and Social Policy in the University of Strathclyde, was approved by the University of Strathclyde’s Ethics Committee, and was carried out by Laura Steckley, Lee Hollins, Sarah Deeley and Michael Bettencourt

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: A Range in S0 Properties Indicating Multiple Formation Pathways

It has been proposed that S0 galaxies are either fading spirals or the result of galaxy mergers. The relative contribution of each pathway, and the environments in which they occur remains unknown. Here we investigate stellar and gas kinematics of 219 S0s in the SAMI Survey to look for signs of multiple formation pathways occurring across the full range of environments. We identify a large range of rotational support in their stellar kinematics, which correspond to ranges in their physical structure. We find that pressure-supported S0s with $v/{\sigma}$ below 0.5 tend to be more compact and feature misaligned stellar and gas components, suggesting an external origin for their gas. We postulate that these S0s are consistent with being formed through a merger process. Meanwhile, comparisons of ellipticity, stellar mass and S\'ersic index distributions with spiral galaxies shows that the rotationally supported S0s with $v/{\sigma}$ above 0.5 are more consistent with a faded spiral origin. In addition, a simulated merger pathway involving a compact elliptical and gas-rich satellite results in an S0 that lies within the pressure-supported group. We conclude that two S0 formation pathways are active, with mergers dominating in isolated galaxies and small groups, and the faded spiral pathway being most prominent in large groups ($10^{13} < M_{halo} < 10^{14}$).Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): formation and growth of elliptical galaxies in the group environment

There are many proposed mechanisms driving the morphological transformation of disc galaxies to elliptical galaxies. In this paper, we determine if the observed transformation in low-mass groups can be explained by the merger histories of galaxies. We measured the group mass– morphology relation for groups from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly group catalogue with masses from 1011 to 1015 M. Contrary to previous studies, the fraction of elliptical galaxies in our more complete group sample increases significantly with group mass across the full range of group mass. The elliptical fraction increases at a rate of 0.163 ± 0.012 per dex of group mass for groups more massive than 1012.5 M. If we allow for uncertainties in the observed group masses, our results are consistent with a continuous increase in elliptical fraction from group masses as low as 1011 M. We tested if this observed relation is consistent with the merger activity using a GADGET-2 dark matter simulation of the galaxy groups. We specified that a simulated galaxy would be transformed to an elliptical morphology either if it experienced a major merger or if its cumulative mass gained from minor mergers exceeded 30 per cent of its final mass. We then calculated a group mass–morphology relation for the simulations. The position and slope of the simulated relation were consistent with the observational relation, with a gradient of 0.184 ± 0.010 per dex of group mass. These results demonstrate a strong correlation between the frequency of merger events and disc-to-elliptical galaxy transformation in galaxy group environments.This research was conducted by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), through project number CE110001020. SB acknowledges funding support from the Australian Research Council through a Future Fellowship (FT140101166). GAMA is a joint European-Australasian project based around a spectroscopic campaign using the AAT. The GAMA input catalogue is based on data taken from the SDSS and the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey. Complementary imaging of the GAMA regions is being obtained by a number of independent survey programmes including GALEX MIS, VST KIDS, VISTA VIKING, WISE, Herschel-ATLAS, GMRT and ASKAP providing ultraviolet to radio coverage. GAMA is funded by the STFC (UK), the ARC (Australia), the AAO and the participating institutions. The GAMA web site is http://www.gama-survey.org/

Polymer hydrogel-based microneedles for metformin release

Drug delivery devices ensure the effective delivery of a broad range of therapeutics to millions of patients worldwide on a daily basis.1 Microneedles are a class of drug delivery device that provide pain free transdermal delivery with improved patient compliance.2-4 The release of metformin, a drug used in the treatment of cancer and diabetes, from polymer hydrogel-based microneedle patches was demonstrated in vitro. Tuning the composition of the polymer hydrogels enabled preparation of robust microneedle patches with mechanical properties such that they would penetrate skin (insertion force of a single microneedle to be ca. 40 N). Swelling experiments conducted at 20°C, 35°C and 60°C show temperature dependent degrees of swelling and kinetics (Fickian diffusion). Drug release from the hydrogel-based microneedles was fitted to various models (e.g., zero order, first order, second order, Korsmeyer-Peppas, Peppas-Sahlins), observing the best fit for the zero-order model. Such microneedles have potential application for transdermal delivery of metformin for the treatment of cancer and diabetes

Poly(2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Hydrogel-Based Microneedles for Metformin Release

The release of metformin, a drug used in the treatment of cancer and diabetes, from poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), pHEMA, hydrogel-based microneedle patches is demonstrated in vitro. Tuning the composition of the pHEMA hydrogels enables preparation of robust microneedle patches with mechanical properties such that they would penetrate skin (insertion force of a single microneedle to be ≈40 N). Swelling experiments conducted at 20, 35, and 60 °C show temperature-dependent degrees of swelling and diffusion kinetics. Drug release from the pHEMA hydrogel-based microneedles is fitted to various models (e.g., zero order, first order, second order). Such pHEMA microneedles have potential application for transdermal delivery of metformin for the treatment of aging, cancer, diabetes, etc

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder