Enhancing the work of the Islington Integrated Gangs Team: A pilot study on the response to serious youth violence in Islington

This report is the result of research conducted by the Centre for City Criminology at City, University of London, in partnership with Islington’s Integrated Gangs Team (IGT) and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The research was co-funded by MPS and the School of Arts and Social Sciences, City, University of London. Following a collaborative research event in October 2017, City Criminologists were commissioned to carry out a small-scale research project to capture the work of the IGT and to make recommendations regarding its operations, coherence, effectiveness and sustainability. The research team conducted semi-structured interviews over several months with 23 practitioners across the services that constitute the IGT. This report presents the findings and recommendations

Dynamical Monte Carlo Study of Equilibrium Polymers : Static Properties

We report results of extensive Dynamical Monte Carlo investigations on self-assembled Equilibrium Polymers (EP) without loops in good solvent. (This is thought to provide a good model of giant surfactant micelles.) Using a novel algorithm we are able to describe efficiently both static and dynamic properties of systems in which the mean chain length \Lav is effectively comparable to that of laboratory experiments (up to 5000 monomers, even at high polymer densities). We sample up to scission energies of $E/k_BT=15$ over nearly three orders of magnitude in monomer density $\phi$, and present a detailed crossover study ranging from swollen EP chains in the dilute regime up to dense molten systems. Confirming recent theoretical predictions, the mean-chain length is found to scale as \Lav \propto \phi^\alpha \exp(\delta E) where the exponents approach $\alpha_d=\delta_d=1/(1+\gamma) \approx 0.46$ and $\alpha_s = 1/2 [1+(\gamma-1)/(\nu d -1)] \approx 0.6, \delta_s=1/2$ in the dilute and semidilute limits respectively. The chain length distribution is qualitatively well described in the dilute limit by the Schulz-Zimm distribution \cN(s)\approx s^{\gamma-1} \exp(-s) where the scaling variable is s=\gamma L/\Lav. The very large size of these simulations allows also an accurate determination of the self-avoiding walk susceptibility exponent $\gamma \approx 1.165 \pm 0.01$. ....... Finite-size effects are discussed in detail.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, LATE

Developments in quantitative luminescence techniques

Developments in quantitative luminescence technique

Physical Activity and Cognitive-Health Content in Top-Circulating Magazines, 2006–2008

Physical activity may promote cognitive health in older adults. Popular media play an important role in preventive health communication. This study examined articles discussing associations between physical activity and cognitive health in top-circulating magazines targeting older adults. 42,753 pages of magazines published from 2006 to 2008 were reviewed; 26 articles met inclusion criteria. Explanations regarding the link between physical activity and cognitive health were provided in 57.7% of articles. These explanations were generally consistent with empirical evidence; however, few articles included empirical evidence. Physical activity recommendations were presented in 80.8% of articles; a wide range was recommended (90–300 min of physical activity per wk). Socioeconomic status and education level were not mentioned in the text. Results suggest an opportunity for greater coverage regarding the role of physical activity in promoting cognitive health in popular media. Magazine content would benefit from including more empirical evidence, culturally sensitive content, and physical activity recommendations that are consistent with U.S. guidelines

Effect of Banded Fertilizer on Manganese Toxicity of Burley Tobacco

Relatively large amounts (1500 to 3000 lbs per acre) of inorganic fertilizers are commonly broadcast preplant in the production of burley tobacco. Such high rates of fertilizer increase both the salt content of the soil solution and soil acidity, often causing reduced stands, manganese toxicity, plant molybdenum and calcium deficiencies, delayed growth and maturity, and reduced yield and quality of cured leaf. Manganese toxicity alone is thought to cost growers 30-40 million dollars each year from yield loss and the costs associated with growing extra acreage the following year to make up their quota¥ Improved fertilizer management systems are needed to increase early plant growth and fertilizer use efficiency. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of banding fertilizer 10 to 12 inches to the side of the row, as compared to preplant broadcast applications, on concentration of manganese and growth of burley tobacco during the early season

Magnetic Fields of Vortices in a Superconducting Thin Film

The magnetic fields associated with a single superconducting vortex traversing a thin film are calculated. The formulation of Pearl, which has been used for a geometry in which for z0 one has superconducting material, is extended to the case of a thin film. For the thin film, the flux in the mid-plane is less than a flux quantum unless one uses a very large radius. For instance a 100 nm film with a 130 nm penetration depth (lambda) has only 80% of a flux quantum within a radius of 1.5 mu m = 11.5.lambda. At 10 mu m 96% is enclosed. The magnetic field near the surface in both geometries has a significant radial component. The fields for a vortex array are then obtained by summing the fields from nearby vortices. The measurability of the field distributions is discussed

The Ultrasensitivity of Living Polymers

Synthetic and biological living polymers are self-assembling chains whose chain length distributions (CLDs) are dynamic. We show these dynamics are ultrasensitive: even a small perturbation (e.g. temperature jump) non-linearly distorts the CLD, eliminating or massively augmenting short chains. The origin is fast relaxation of mass variables (mean chain length, monomer concentration) which perturbs CLD shape variables before these can relax via slow chain growth rate fluctuations. Viscosity relaxation predictions agree with experiments on the best-studied synthetic system, alpha-methylstyrene.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Electron transport properties of sub-3-nm diameter copper nanowires

Density functional theory and density functional tight-binding are applied to model electron transport in copper nanowires of approximately 1 nm and 3 nm diameters with varying crystal orientation and surface termination. The copper nanowires studied are found to be metallic irrespective of diameter, crystal orientation and/or surface termination. Electron transmission is highly dependent on crystal orientation and surface termination. Nanowires oriented along the [110] crystallographic axis consistently exhibit the highest electron transmission while surface oxidized nanowires show significantly reduced electron transmission compared to unterminated nanowires. Transmission per unit area is calculated in each case, for a given crystal orientation we find that this value decreases with diameter for unterminated nanowires but is largely unaffected by diameter in surface oxidized nanowires for the size regime considered. Transmission pathway plots show that transmission is larger at the surface of unterminated nanowires than inside the nanowire and that transmission at the nanowire surface is significantly reduced by surface oxidation. Finally, we present a simple model which explains the transport per unit area dependence on diameter based on transmission pathways results

Labelling, Deviance and Media

Labelling theory is a perspective that emerged as a distinctive approach to criminology during the 1960s, and was a major seedbed of the radical and critical perspectives that became prominent in the 1970s. It represented the highpoint of an epistemological shift within the social sciences away from positivism – which had dominated criminological enquiry since the late-1800s – and toward an altogether more relativistic stance on the categories and concepts of crime and control. It inspired a huge amount of work throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and still resonates powerfully today. This short chapter maps out some of the ways in which labelling, deviance, media and justice interact at the levels of definition and process. It presents an overview and analysis of key mediatised labelling processes, such as the highly influential concept of moral panics. It discusses how the interconnections between labelling, crime and criminal justice are changing in a context of technological development, cultural change and media proliferation. The conclusion offers an assessment and evaluation of labelling theory’s long-term impact on criminology