Integration of multimedia technology into the curriculum of forensic science courses using crime scene investigations.

Virtual reality technology is a powerful tool for the development of experimental learning in practical situations. Creation of software packages with some element of virtual learning allows educators to broaden the available experience of students beyond the scope that a standard curriculum provides. This teaching methodology is widely used in the delivery of medical education with many surgical techniques being practised via virtual reality technologies (see Engum et al., 2003). Use has been made of this technology for a wide range of teaching applications such as virtual field trials for an environmental science course (Ramasundaram et al., 2005), and community nursing visiting education scenarios (Nelson et al., 2005) for example. Nelson et al. (2005) imaged three-dimensional representations of patient living accommodation incorporating views of patient medication in order to deliver care modules via a problem-based learning approach. The use of virtual reality in the teaching of crime scene science was pioneered by the National Institute of Forensic Science in Australia as part of their Science Proficiency Advisory Committee testing programme. A number of scenarios were created using CDROM interfacing, allowing as near as possible normal procedures to be adopted. This package included proficiency testing integrated into the package and serves as a paradigm for the creation of virtual reality crime scene scenarios (Horswell, 2000). The package is commercially available on CD-ROM as part of the series ‘After the Fact’ (http://www.nfis.com.au). The CD-ROM package is geared to proficiency training of serving scenes of crime officers and thus contains details that may not be needed in the education of other parties with a need for forensic awareness. These include undergraduate students studying towards forensic science degree programmes in the UK as well as serving Police Officers. These groups may need virtual reality crime scene material geared to their specific knowledge requirements. In addition, Prof J Fraser, President of the Forensic Science Society and a former police Scientific Support Manager, speaking to the United Kingdom, House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee in its report ‘Forensic Science on Trial’ (2005) states: ‘The documented evidence in relation to police knowledge of forensic science, in terms of making the best use of forensic science, is consistently clear, that their knowledge needs to improve and therefore their training needs to improve’. This clearly identifies a need for further training of serving police officers in forensic science. It was with this in mind that staff at the University collaborated with the West Midlands Police Service. The aim was to create a virtual reality CD-ROM that could serve as part of the continuing professional development of serving police officers in the area of scene management. Adaptation of the CD-ROM could allow some introductory materials to help undergraduate students of forensic science

Effects of Nose Radius and Aerodynamic Loading on Leading Edge Receptivity

An analysis is presented of the effects of airfoil thickness and mean aerodynamic loading on boundary-layer receptivity in the leading-edge region. The case of acoustic free-stream disturbances, incident on a thin cambered airfoil with a parabolic leading edge in a low Mach number flow, is considered. An asymptotic analysis based on large Reynolds number is developed, supplemented by numerical results. The airfoil thickness distribution enters the theory through a Strouhal number based on the nose radius of the airfoil, S = (omega)tau(sub n)/U, where omega is the frequency of the acoustic wave and U is the mean flow speed. The influence of mean aerodynamic loading enters through an effective angle-of-attack parameter ti, related to flow around the leading edge from the lower surface to the upper. The variation of the receptivity level is analyzed as a function of S, mu, and characteristics of the free-stream acoustic wave. For an unloaded leading edge, a finite nose radius dramatically reduces the receptivity level compared to that for a flat plate, the amplitude of the instability waves in the boundary layer being decreased by an order of magnitude when S = 0.3. Modest levels of aerodynamic loading are found to further decrease the receptivity level for the upper surface of the airfoil, while an increase in receptivity level occurs for the lower surface. For larger angles of attack close to the critical angle for boundary layer separation, a local rise in the receptivity level occurs for the upper surface, while for the lower surface the receptivity decreases. The effects of aerodynamic loading are more pronounced at larger values of S. Oblique acoustic waves produce much higher receptivity levels than acoustic waves propagating downstream parallel to the airfoil chord

The contribution of organisational factors to vicarious trauma in mental health professionals: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

Background: The negative impact of trauma work has been well documented in mental health professionals. There are three main phenomena used to describe these effects: Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), Vicarious Trauma (VT) and Compassion Fatigue (CF). To date, the majority of research has focused on the contribution of individual level factors. However, it is imperative to also understand the role of organizational factors. Objectives: This review examines the role of organizational factors in ameliorating or preventing STS, VT, and CF in mental health professionals. We further aimed to identify specific elements of these factors which are perceived to be beneficial and/or detrimental in mitigating against the effects of STS, VT, and CF. Method: Studies were identified by searching the electronic databases Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science and SCOPUS with final searches taking place on 10 March 2021. Results: Twenty-three quantitative studies, eight qualitative studies, and five mixed methods studies were included in the final review. A narrative synthesis was conducted to analyse the findings. The results of the review highlight the importance of regular supervision within supportive supervisory relationships, strong peer support networks, and balanced and diverse caseloads. The value of having an organizational culture which acknowledges and validates the existence of STS was also imperative. Conclusions: Organizations have an ethical responsibility to support the mental health professionals they employ and provide a supportive environment which protects them against STS. This review provides preliminary evidence for the types of support that should be offered and highlights the gaps in the literature and where future research should be directed. Further research is needed to evaluate which strategies–and under what conditions–best ameliorate and prevent STS

Neutron-Unbound Excited States of 23N

Neutron unbound states in 23N were populated via proton knockout from an 83.4 MeV/nucleon 24O beam on a liquid deuterium target. The two-body decay energy displays two peaks at E1∼100keV and E2∼1MeV with respect to the neutron separation energy. The data are consistent with shell model calculations predicting resonances at excitation energies of ∼3.6MeV and ∼4.5MeV. The selectivity of the reaction implies that these states correspond to the first and second 3/2− states. The energy of the first state is about 1.3 MeV lower than the first excited 2+ in 24O. This decrease is largely due to coupling with the πp−13/2 hole along with a small reduction of the N=16 shell gap in 23N

Reduced quasifission competition in fusion reactions forming neutron-rich heavy elements

Measurements of mass-angle distributions (MADs) for Cr + W reactions, providing a wide range in the neutron-to-proton ratio of the compound system, (N/Z)CN, have allowed for the dependence of quasifission on the (N/Z)CN to be determined in a model-independent way. Previous experimental and theoretical studies had produced conflicting conclusions. The experimental MADs reveal an increase in contact time and mass evolution of the quasifission fragments with increasing (N/Z)CN, which is indicative of an increase in the fusion probability. The experimental results are in agreement with microscopic time-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations of the quasifission process. The experimental and theoretical results favor the use of the most neutron-rich projectiles and targets for the production of heavy and superheavy nuclei.Comment: Accepted to PRC as a Rapid Communicatio

Mental health resilience in the adolescent offspring of parents with depression:a prospective longitudinal study

Background Young people whose parents have depression have a greatly increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, but poor outcomes are not inevitable. Identification of the contributors to mental health resilience in young people at high familial risk is an internationally recognised priority. Our objectives were to identify protective factors that predict sustained good mental health in adolescents with a parent with depression and to test whether these contribute beyond what is explained by parent illness severity. Methods The Early Prediction of Adolescent Depression study (EPAD) is a prospective longitudinal study of offspring of parents with recurrent depression. Parents with recurrent major depressive disorder, co-parents, and offspring (aged 9–17 years at baseline) were assessed three times over 4 years in a community setting. Offspring outcomes were operationalised as absence of mental health disorder, subthreshold symptoms, or suicidality on all three study occasions (sustained good mental health); and better than expected mental health (mood and behavioural symptoms at follow-up lower than predicted given severity of parental depression). Family, social, cognitive, and health behaviour predictor variables were assessed using interview and questionnaire measures. Findings Between February and June, 2007, we screened 337 families at baseline, of which 331 were eligible. Of these, 262 completed the three assessments and were included in the data for sustained mental health. Adolescent mental health problems were common, but 53 (20%) of the 262 adolescents showed sustained good mental health. Index parent positive expressed emotion (odds ratio 1·91 [95% CI 1·31–2·79]; p=0·001), co-parent support (1·90 [1·38–2·62]; p<0·0001), good-quality social relationships (2·07 [1·35–3·18]; p=0·001), self-efficacy (1·49 [1·05–2·11]; p=0·03), and frequent exercise (2·96 [1·26–6·92]; p=0·01) were associated with sustained good mental health. Analyses accounting for parent depression severity were consistent, but frequent exercise only predicted better than expected mood-related mental health (β=–0·22; p=0·0004) not behavioural mental health, whereas index parents' expression of positive emotions predicted better than expected behavioural mental health (β=–0·16; p=0·01) not mood-related mental health. Multiple protective factors were required for offspring to be free of mental health problems (zero or one protective factor, 4% sustained good mental health; two protective factors, 10%; three protective factors, 13%, four protective factors, 38%; five protective factors, 48%). Interpretation Adolescent mental health problems are common, but not inevitable, even when parental depression is severe and recurrent. These findings suggest that prevention programmes will need to enhance multiple protective factors across different domains of functioning

Stratification of adolescents across mental phenomena emphasizes the importance of transdiagnostic distress: a replication in two general population cohorts

Characterizing patterns of mental phenomena in epidemiological studies of adolescents can provide insight into the latent organization of psychiatric disorders. This avoids the biases of chronicity and selection inherent in clinical samples, guides models of shared aetiology within psychiatric disorders and informs the development and implementation of interventions. We applied Gaussian mixture modelling to measures of mental phenomena from two general population cohorts: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, n=3,018) and the Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network (NSPN, n=2,023). We defined classes according to their patterns of both positive (e.g. wellbeing and self-esteem) and negative (e.g. depression, anxiety, psychotic experiences) phenomena. Subsequently, we characterized classes by considering the distribution of diagnoses and sex split across classes. Four well-separated classes were identified within each cohort. Classes primarily differed by overall severity of transdiagnostic distress rather than particular patterns of phenomena akin to diagnoses. Further, as overall severity of distress increased, so did within-class variability, the proportion of individuals with operational psychiatric diagnoses. These results suggest that classes of mental phenomena in the general population of adolescents may not be the same as those found in clinical samples. Classes differentiated only by overall severity support the existence of a general, transdiagnostic mental distress factor and have important implications for intervention

A note on conformal symmetry in projective superspace

We describe a sufficient condition for actions constructed in projective superspace to possess an SU(2) R-symmetry. We check directly that this condition implies that the corresponding hyperkahler varieties, constructed by means of the generalized Legendre transform, have a Swann bundle structure.Comment: 21 pages, added reference