“Some of them are alright”: The effects of experiences with community police officers on Irish young people’s attitudes toward the police

Community policing is regarded as a more proactive policing policy compared to traditional methods of detecting and punishing crimes already committed. Few studies have investigated the effect of such policing on young people’s attitudes toward the police and to date no research in this area has been conducted in the Republic of Ireland. Semi-structured interviews with 20 young people (12 to 18 years old) from the West of Ireland explored the effects of interactions with a community officer on overall attitudes toward the police. Findings suggest that young people make distinctions between different types of officers. While the community officer is positively regarded, this has little impact on young people’s attitudes toward the police more generally, or towards other police officers they encounter and may even reinforce negative views of these officers through comparison of their experiences with the community officer

Comeback city? Lessons from revitalising a diverse place like Dandenong

In the 1990s, central Dandenong in Melbourne’s southeast was in decline. But, over the past decade and a half, this trend has been halted and in some areas reversed. Our research has identified key elements in this revitalisation, including strong roles for both public sector and non-government participants. Importantly, the approach has delivered new opportunities for the culturally diverse local community. At the time these efforts began, a shrinking manufacturing sector and poor urban planning decisions had drained vitality from the centre. New shopping malls and suburban estates enticed people to live and shop elsewhere. Public spaces were dilapidated. Many retail buildings were vacant. Unsurprisingly, local population levels were stagnating. Affordable rents and a community with strong networks of support attracted some new residents, most from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. However, once settled, many people faced barriers to employment, training and adequate public facilities.Fil: Henderson, Hayley. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro de Estudios Urbanos y Regionales; Argentina. The Australian National University; AustraliaFil: Gleeson, Brendan. University of Melbourne; AustraliaFil: Sullivan, Helen. The Australian National University; Australi

Cultural diversity and collaborative governance in central Dandenong

This paper reports preliminary findings from a study sponsored by the ESRC about collaborative governance under austerity. While the study involved the comparison of experiences of ‘austerity’ and ‘collaboration’ between eight Western cities, the focus of this paper is the unique experience of collaboration in urban governance in Dandenong, Melbourne. In particular, our research examined distinct forms of collaboration that have occurred under recent conditions of urban policy and funding reprioritisations (2005-2017). In addition to uncovering general details about collaborative structures and stresses, we have discovered that cultural diversity has played a unique role in both defining modes of collaboration as well as the direction of urban revitalisation. Cultural diversity may be typical of many Australian cities since World War Two, where scholarship has long noted the dynamism, fluidity and positivity of new cultural inflows within expansive urbanisation. However, less is known about the ways in which cultural diversity influences collaborative modes of urban governance. Working with recent scholarship on hybridity in urban governance this paper elucidates the specific ways cultural diversity is supported locally in Dandenong and, in turn, used in collaboration. Specifically, it describes a starting position of widespread support for multiculturalism and mutual understanding in the community linked to the distinctive morphology and socio-ethnic functioning of the city. It also describes the multiple forms of engagement and collaboration between actors in revitalisation, such as more traditional forms of engagement between government and non-government actors as well as new forms of political action led by cultural groups to influence the trajectory of urban policy

Room-temperature ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal showing a large and divergent density

The ferroelectric nematic phase (NF) is a recently discovered phase of matter in which the orientational order of the conventional nematic liquid crystal state is augmented with polar order. Atomistic simulations suggest that the polar NF phase would be denser than conventional nematics owing to contributions from polar order. Using an oscillating U-tube densitometer, we obtain detailed temperature-dependent density values for a selection of conventional liquid crystals with excellent agreement with earlier reports. Having demonstrated the validity of our method, we then record density as a function of temperature for M5, a novel room-temperature ferroelectric nematic material. We present the first experimental density data for a NF material as well as density data for a nematic that has not previously been reported. We find that the room-temperature NF material shows a large (>1.3 g cm3) density at all temperatures studied, with an increase in density at phase transitions. The magnitude of the increase for the intermediate splay-ferroelectric nematic (NX-NF) transition is an order of magnitude smaller than the isotropic-nematic (I-N) transition. Present results may be typical of ferroelectric nematic materials, potentially guiding material development, and is especially relevant for informing ongoing studies into this emerging class of materials

Approaches to studying smectic layer elasticity and field induced deformations

The initial aim of the work presented in this thesis was to examine smectic layer compressibility with a view to improving our understanding of the stability of intermediate phases. A natural starting point was to investigate the smectic-A phase, as it is the most basic of the smectic phases. The response of the layered structure to external fields is also a focus of this thesis as electric and magnetic fields enable the layer properties to be probed. Investigations into the reorientation dynamics of smectic-A layers in magnetic fields were performed using geometries and cell thicknesses (>50 μm) that are not feasible using electric fields. Data presented in this thesis show that three distinct reorientation mechanisms can occur, one of which is previously unreported and bridges the gap between the previously known mechanisms. The new mechanism observed in 270 μm and 340 μm thickness cells exhibits multiple stage reorientation on a timescale between tens and hundreds of seconds. Using conventional electro-optic techniques combined with a theoretical approach developed by others, this thesis presents a new technique to provide measurement of relative smectic layer compressibility of eight smectic-A liquid crystalline materials. The method presented here combines data on cell thickness, dielectric anisotropy and the measurement of the voltage threshold of the toroidal to stripe domain transition. As expected, the experimental data indicated that materials with shorter molecular lengths had the largest relative layer compressibility. Finally, direct measurement of smectic layer compressibility was investigated and the design of an apparatus capable of such measurements was undertaken. Preliminary results from such an apparatus are presented along with a discussion on the steps taken to develop the design.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceEPSRCGBUnited Kingdo

Lipid coated liquid crystal droplets for the on-chip detection of antimicrobial peptides

We describe a novel biosensor based on phospholipid-coated nematic liquid crystal (LC) droplets and demonstrate the detection of Smp43, a model antimicrobial peptide (AMP) from the venom of North African scorpion Scorpio maurus palmatus. Mono-disperse lipid-coated LC droplets of diameter 16.7 ± 0.2 μm were generated using PDMS microfluidic devices with a flow-focusing configuration and were the target for AMPs. The droplets were trapped in a bespoke microfluidic trap structure and were simultaneously treated with Smp43 at gradient concentrations in six different chambers. The disruption of the lipid monolayer by the Smp43 was detected (<6 μM) at concentrations well within its biologically active range, indicated by a dramatic change in the appearance of the droplets associated with the transition from a typical radial configuration to a bipolar configuration, which is readily observed by polarizing microscopy. This suggests the system has feasibility as a drug-discovery screening tool. Further, compared to previously reported LC droplet biosensors, this LC droplet biosensor with a lipid coating is more biologically relevant and its ease of use in detecting membrane-related biological processes and interactions has the potential for development as a reliable, low-cost and disposable point of care diagnostic tool

Challenges to providing culturally sensitive drug interventions for black and Asian minority ethnic (BAME) groups within UK youth justice systems

To explore how substance use practitioners intervene with ethnically and culturally diverse groups of young people in contact with the youth justice system. Telephone, face to face interviews and a focus group were conducted. Data were analysed thematically using a frame reflective theoretical approach. Practitioners tended to offer individualised interventions to young people in place of culturally specific approaches partly due to a lack of knowledge, training or understanding of diverse cultural needs, and for practical and resource reasons. Practitioners reject the official narrative of BAME youth in the justice system as dangerous and in need of control, viewing them instead as vulnerable and in need of support but report they lack experience, and sufficient resources, in delivering interventions to diverse groups. There is little information regarding how practitioners respond to diversity in their daily practice. This paper is an exploration of how diversity is framed and responded to in the context of youth substance use and criminal justice