Relaxation for an optimal design problem with linear growth and perimeter penalization

The paper is devoted to the relaxation and integral representation in the space of functions of bounded variation for an integral energy arising from optimal design problems. The presence of a perimeter penalization is also considered in order to avoid non existence of admissible solutions, besides this leads to an interaction in the limit energy. Also more general models have been taken into account.Comment: 35 page

Russia changes the law on domestic violence – why should it concern the UK?

Earlier this month, President Putin signed a new law that introduced changes to existing legislation on family violence in Russia. The new law has drawn wide international criticism from women, human rights and domestic violence survivors’ support groups. The UK and the international community also condemned the new legislation, but the response seems to have been more muted. A reliance on secondary sources makes the ability to engage with the debate limited; this does not mean that its wider implications and whether a more robust international response is warranted, cannot be considered

Bystander pilot programme assessment report: comparisons between questionnaire 1 and questionnaire 2

A version of the bystander intervention programme (entitled ‘Intervention Initiative’) was piloted during eight weeks, between January and March of 2017, with a group of Applied Criminology students. A research project was established to assess its impact, before its potential rollout to the whole student population. Funding to this effect was secured from the School of Law’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Fund, with financial contribution also received from Student Experience. The research undertaken included two questionnaires, one administered to all participants before the first Intervention Initiative session and another after the last session. Findings from both questionnaires informed a report submitted to SMT in March, 2017, which related mostly to pedagogical and logistical aspects of the programme (see Graca et al, 2017). The present report uses the same data to try to gauge the impact of the programme on participants’ own behaviour and perceptions of their peers’ behaviour. As with the previous report, the data analysis and conclusions presented here have limitations. These limitations result mostly from the small size and specificity of the population surveyed; the findings in the current report cannot, therefore, be extrapolated with statistical significance to a larger population. However, they indicate important trends and aspects worth considering for future iterations of the programme

Domestic violence policy and legislation in the UK: a discussion of immigrant women’s vulnerabilities

The desire to prevent domestic violence and support its victims has driven a number of changes in governmental law and policy in the UK, particularly since the 1970s. This culminated with the implementation of a multi-agency approach in the 1990s that is still used today. The specific needs of immigrant women, however, have not always been taken into account when introducing these changes. This article assesses whether and how current UK legislation and policy on domestic violence address immigrant women’s added vulnerabilities. It does so by reviewing this legislation and policy against the socio-economic, cultural and individual barriers that immigrant women are most likely to experience in accessing justice in the country of destination. It suggests that the current provision does not adequately support immigrant women to overcome these barriers, and that greater awareness of their experiences and socio-cultural positioning is needed to better assist them when seeking help to escape domestic violence

Formal, non-formal and informal learning and higher education graduates' reemployment: evidence for Portugal

Unemployment rates among Portuguese Higher Education (HE) graduates have been rising. This trend becomes quite obvious when we compare Portugal and other European Member States whose labor markets have been facing similar difficulties. In fact, Portuguese graduates are not only more prone to facing unemployment but they are also enduring long term unemployment as a result of the current unemployment crisis. Among the main reasons for this situation is the mismatch between the supply and demand for qualifications due to the inability of the Portuguese labor market to absorb higher skills (chimney effect). Nevertheless, competition in demand and the need to overcome labor productivity’s weaknesses create the need for actions (education, training policies and labor market interventions) to improve the match between supply and demand for HE qualifications in order to prevent social disinvestment and to foster inclusion and economic development. In the short and medium term, given the economic and social development strategy, adjustments will consider the need to redefine the HE graduates’ skills and profiles throughout education and training. In this paper we are concerned with the effects on HE unemployed graduates’ reemployment of additional education programs compared to informal and non-formal learning activities. We take life cycle theories and Willis (1986) as our main theoretical reference. We use the database of the Adult Education Survey (AES 2007) developed by the Statistics Portugal, following methodological guidelines issued by EUROSTAT and adopted in all European Union Member States. The survey covers adult participation in formal and Non-Formal Education and informal activities and comprises 11289 cases (individuals). When assessing the main influences of education, non-formal and Informal Learning activities on (re)employment, we use AES data on labor market transitions between two consecutive periods. We control for parents’ education and occupation, individual’s previous schooling, gender and age. Our research methodology is quantitative. We use chi-square independence tests, correlation analysis and tests for equality of proportions. We expect to highlight the ability displayed by non-formal and Informal Learning to redesign educational formal skills, with a special insight into HE skills. The Portuguese HE system tends to be theoretically focused and practical internship is rare even in this post-Bologna phase. Accordingly Non-Formal Education - especially vocational training tailored to labor market occupations - could prove to be a most useful resource in reshaping graduates’ profiles and promoting their employment/reemployment. Informal Learning is also expected to play a major role in the processes of skills acquisition and mobilization related to practical knowledge, thereby enhancing social networking and employability. We aim to assess how much HE programs and non-formal and Informal Learning contribute to enhance graduates’ employment opportunities and to identify pivotal areas for change in HE and non-formal programs.Formal, non formal and informal learning; higher education graduates; employability