Inclusion, cryptocurrency, and inspiration: a view from the Financial Conduct Authority

The government wants the UK to become a global hub for cryptocurrency, but to get there, the country needs to face conflicting interests between consumers and the crypto industry. Sheldon Mills, the executive director of consumers and competition at the Financial Conduct Authority, says that this is one of the many balancing acts faced by the regulator. He spoke about crypto, diversity and inclusion, consumer protection, and more with Karina Robinson, co-director of LSE’s The Inclusion Initiative

Inclusion in the City: setting the agenda for the first years of the Inclusion Initiative at LSE

In November 2020 The Inclusion Initiative (TII) will launch at LSE. TII aims to bring behavioural science insights to firms to allow them to enhance the inclusion of all talent, and simultaneously produce academically rigorous and relevant research that links directly to TII’s purpose. TII also aims to produce research that has practical implications at the level of the firm. TII’s research agenda has three main aims. First, to propose a viable proxy measure of inclusion. Second, to quantify the direct link between inclusion and the core business outcomes it should theoretically improve, such as innovation, creativity and risk assessment both within and across firms. Third, to propose to firms a menu of cost effective interventions that could improve inclusion of all talent from pipeline to boardroom. We put emphasis on could because TII insists that all interventions should be rolled out and linked to an outcome the firm cares about, so firms are confident there is a positive net present value to their investment. Via executive training TII will provide the methodology to do just that. To set the research agenda for the first phase of TII, we embarked on a piece of qualitative research that involved interviewing senior leaders in TII’s first priority area, Financial and Professional Services, to learn their beliefs about best practice in terms of improving inclusion at the firm level, and the obstacles that stand in the way of progress. With these insights at hand, we set a research agenda for TII that will tackle the most commonly cited obstacles, drawing on current insights from the behavioural science literature. The Inclusion in the City paper outlines what this agenda is. The primary aim being to inspire firms to adopt some of the ideas in this paper for their own in-house inclusion agendas, with their own people

The City Quantum Summit: a briefing on Diversity and Inclusion in the quantum sector

Workplaces are changing rapidly, with an increasingly diverse workforce and a lack of talent to fill all the roles, which is why companies across all industries are tackling Diversity & Inclusion within their organisations

Responsible AI – Two Frameworks for Ethical Design Practice

In 2019, the IEEE launched the P7000 standards projects intended to address ethical issues in the design of autonomous and intelligent systems. This move came amidst a growing public concern over the unintended consequences of artificial intelligence (AI), compounded by the lack of an anticipatory process for attending to ethical impact within professional practice. However, the difficulty in moving from principles to practice presents a significant challenge to the implementation of ethical guidelines. Herein, we describe two complementary frameworks for integrating ethical analysis into engineering practice to help address this challenge. We then provide the outcomes of an ethical analysis informed by these frameworks, conducted within the specific context of internet- delivered therapy in digital mental health. We hope both the frameworks and analysis can provide tools and insights, not only for the context of digital healthcare, but for data-enabled and intelligent technology development more broadly

Variaciones residenciales, COVID-19 y población en España de 2017-2021: caso de estudio Toledo, Guadalajara y la periferia hacia Madrid

Treball final del Màster Universitari en Estudis Avançats en Arquitectura-Barcelona (MBArch). Gestió i Valoració Urbana i ArquitectònicaEste trabajo de fin de master pretende analizar las variaciones residenciales que se han experimentado en el territorio español de los años 2017 a 2021 para la población extranjera y española de nacionalidad, estudiando así los patrones de movilidad residencial que tienen a nivel provincial por grupo continental de origen. Se determinó un caso de estudio en las provincias de Toledo, Madrid y Guadalajara al observar como los saldos migratorios han aumentado en los últimos años en las provincias a los costados de Madrid, en especial en los municipios periféricos, es decir, con mayor cercanía al centro de la capital para la población extranjera y española y por edad media.This master's thesis aims to analyze the residential variations that have been experienced in the Spanish territory from the years 2017 to 2021 for the foreign and Spanish population of nationality, thus studying the patterns of residential mobility that they have at the provincial level by continental group of origin. A case study was determined in the provinces of Toledo, Madrid and Guadalajara by observing how migratory balances have increased in recent years in the provinces on the sides of Madrid, especially in the peripheral municipalities, that is, closer to the center of the capital for the foreign and Spanish population and by average age

Aspectos psicossociais relacionados à satisfação corporal de lésbicas e mulheres bissexuais brasileiras

Esta dissertação investigou a relação entre aspectos piscossociais relacionados à satisfação corporal de lésbicas e mulheres bissexuais brasileiras. Foram realizados dois estudos empíricos de métodos mistos – quantitativo e qualitativo - sequenciais. O primeiro estudo examinou as associações entre a satisfação corporal e as identificações como lésbica e mulher bissexual. Investigou ainda o papel da autoestima e do perfeccionismo físico sobre a satisfação corporal nesse público. Participaram do estudo of 337 mulheres brasileiras com idade entre 18 e 61 anos (M = 27.56; SD = 7.25), a maioria auto-identificada como cisgênero (95.5%), lésbica (73%), ou bissexual (17.6%). Algumas participantes também identificaram-se com outras orientações sexuais (e.g., sapatão, pansexual, assexual, e queer), e outras identidades de gênero (e.g., gênero fluído e sapatção). Os resultados sugerem que há uma conexão direta entre satisfação corporal e as identificações com as lesbianidade e bissexualidade, com as identificações LB explicando 4,4% da satisfação corporal. Já as identificações LB, a autoestima global e o perfeccionismo físico explicaram 20,7% da satisfação corporal. São discutidos aspectos psicossociais e culturais implicados na relação entre as variáveis sob uma perspectiva positiva e protetiva frente às pressões sociais e estétiticas sobre os corpos das mulheres. O segundo estudo buscou compreender a percepção de lésbicas e mulheres bissexuais acerca da pressão social e estética corporais, especialmente por meio das mensagens veiculadas na mídia e redes sociais. Os rígidos padrões de beleza e estética corporal tem destacado um aumento significativo nos níveis de insatisfação com a aparência. As mulheres heterossexuais parecem estar mais vulneráveis a essa pressão para atender aos padrões de beleza estética que valorizam a magreza extrema, a branquitude, a juventude e heterossexualidade e as expressões de feminilidade. No entanto, tem sido teorizado que as lésbicas e mulheres bissexuais pertencem a uma subcultura que parece ser protetiva dessas demandas, por recusarem os padrões estéticos heteronormativos. Oito mulheres brasileiras autodeclaradas lésbicas e bissexuais foram entrevistadas sobre suas experiências quanto à pressão social para atender a tais requisitos. A análise temática de suas narrativas sugere que mulheres mais identificadas com as lesbianidades sentem-se mais satisfeitas com sua aparência física. Essa satisfação está positivamente associada à autoestima, aos aspectos positivos da identidade sexual, além de maior liberdade quanto às expressões de gênero que não conformam o binarismo. Por outro lado, mulheres que relataram uma menor identificação enquanto lésbicas, referiram baixa autoestima; níveis mais elevados de perfeccionismo físico e comparação social e menores níveis de satisfação corporal. Foram discutidos os aspectos psicossociais e culturais implicados nesse âmbito, marcadores sociais, normas socioculturais, autoestima e demais aspectos que impactam positiva e negativamente as suas experiências cotidianas. São discutidos os aspectos psicossociais e socioculturais em disputa nessa relação entre imagem corporal e as identificações lésbica e bissexual. São apresentadas as contribuições, limitações e perspectivas para estudos futuros nesse campo.This dissertation investigated the relationship between psychosocial aspects related to body satisfaction in Brazilian lesbians and bisexual women. Two empirical studies of mixed methods - quantitative and qualitative - sequential were carried out. The first study examined the associations between body satisfaction and identifications as lesbian and bisexual. It also investigated the role of self-esteem and physical perfectionism on body satisfaction in this audience. A total of 337 Brazilian women aged between 18 and 61 years (M = 27.56; SD = 7.25) participated, mostly self identified as cisgender (95.5%), lesbian (73%), or bisexual (17.6%). Some participants also identified with other sexual orientation labels (e.g., dyke, pansexual, asexual, and queer), and other gender identities (e.g., genderfluid and dyke). The results suggest a direct connection between body satisfaction and identifications with lesbianism and bisexuality, with LB identifications explaining 4.4% of body satisfaction. LB identifications, self-esteem, and physical perfectionism explained 20.7% of body satisfaction. We discussed the psychosocial and cultural aspects between the variables under a positive and protective perspective against social and aesthetic pressures on women's bodies. The second study sought to understand the perception of lesbians and bisexual women about social pressure throught bodies, especially that messages conveyed in media and social network. The strict standards of beauty and body esthetics have highlighted a significant increase in levels of dissatisfaction with appearance. Heterosexual women seem to be more vulnerable to this pressure to achieve standards of aesthetic beauty that value extreme thinness, whiteness, youth, heterosexuality, and femininity. However, it theorized that lesbians and bisexual women belong to a subculture that appears to be protective of these demands by refusing heteronormative aesthetic standards. Interviewed a total of eight self-declared lesbian and bisexual Brazilian women about their experiences of social pressure to reproduce these beauty standards. Thematic analysis of their narratives suggests that women more identified with lesbianities feel more satisfied with their physical appearance. This satisfaction is positively associated with self- esteem, positive aspects of sexual identity, in addition to greater freedom regarding gender expressions that do not conform to binarism. On the other hand, women who reported less identification as lesbians reported low self-esteem; higher levels of physical perfectionism and social comparison, and lower levels of body satisfaction. We discussed Psychosocial and cultural aspects involved in this context, social markers, sociocultural norms, self-esteem, and other aspects that positively and negatively affect their daily experiences. We also discussed psychosocial and sociocultural aspects in dispute in this relationship between body image and lesbian and bisexual identification. We presented contributions, limitations, and perspectives for future studies in this field

A transitional disk around an intermediate mass star in the sparse population of the Orion OB1 Association

We present a detailed study of the disk around the intermediate mass star SO 411, aiming to explain the spectral energy distribution of this star. We show that this is a transitional disk truncated at $\sim$11 au, with $\sim$0.03 lunar masses of optically thin dust inside the cavity. Gas also flows through the cavity, since we find that the disk is still accreting mass onto the star, at a rate of $\sim 5x10^{-9}$ Msun/yr. Until now, SO 411 has been thought to belong to the $\sim$3 Myr old {$\sigma$} Orionis cluster. However, we analyzed the second Gaia Data Release in combination with kinematic data previously reported, and found that SO 411 can be associated with an sparse stellar population located in front of the {$\sigma$} Orionis cluster. If this is the case, then SO 411 is older and even more peculiar, since primordial disks in this stellar mass range are scarce for ages $>$5 Myr. Analysis of the silicate 10$\mu$m feature of SO 411 indicates that the observed feature arises at the edge of the outer disk, and displays a very high crystallinity ratio of $\sim$0.5, with forsterite the most abundant silicate crystal. The high forsterite abundance points to crystal formation in non-equilibrium conditions. The PAH spectrum of SO 411 is consistent with this intermediate state between the hot and luminous Herbig Ae and the less massive and cooler T Tauri stars. Analysis of the 7.7$\mu$m PAH feature indicates that small PAHs still remain in the SO 411 disk.Comment: Accepted in the Astrophysical Journal (17 pages, 9 Figures

Responsible Innovation in Online Therapy

An initial set of evidence- based ethical considerations and design recommendations to guide the responsible development of digital mental health technologies.Funded by Ieso Digital Healt

Age and cultural gender equality as moderators of the gender difference in the importance of religion and spirituality: Comparing the United Kingdom, France, and Germany

A range of research studies has found that women report greater importance of religion and spirituality in their lives than men do. This study extends the literature on this phenomenon and the theories that aim to explain it, by looking at whether gender differences in the three European countries (UK, France and Germany) differ by adult age group (young adults 18-39, midlifers 40-59) and older adults 60+), and by the cultural gender equality of the countries in question. Participants provided data on the importance of religiosity and spirituality to their life. Significant gender differences were found within all three countries, for each of the three age groups. In line with predictions based on Global Gender Gap Report 2016, Germany showed the smallest difference, followed by France and the UK. Gender differences were smaller in the young adult samples than midlife adults or older adults

Emerging biological archives can reveal ecological and climatic change in Antarctica

Anthropogenic climate change is causing observable changes in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean including increased air and ocean temperatures, glacial melt leading to sea-level rise and a reduction in salinity, and changes to freshwater water availability on land. These changes impact local Antarctic ecosystems and the Earth's climate system. The Antarctic has experienced significant past environmental change, including cycles of glaciation over the Quaternary Period (the past similar to 2.6 million years), Understanding Antarctica's paleoecosystems, and the corresponding paleoenvironments and climates that have shaped them, provides insight into present day ecosystem change, and importantly, helps constrain model projections of future change. Biological archives such as extant moss beds and peat profiles, biological proxies in lake and marine sediments, vertebrate animal colonies, and extant terrestrial and benthic marine invertebrates, complement other Antarctic paleoclimate archives by recording the nature and rate of past ecological change, the paleoenvironmental drivers of that change, and constrain current ecosystem and climate models. These archives provide invaluable information about terrestrial ice-free areas, a key location for Antarctic biodiversity, and the continental margin which is important for understanding ice sheet dynamics. Recent significant advances in analytical techniques (e.g., genomics, biogeochemical analyses) have led to new applications and greater power in elucidating the environmental records contained within biological archives. Paleoecological and paleoclimate discoveries derived from biological archives, and integration with existing data from other paleoclimate data sources, will significantly expand our understanding of past, present, and future ecological change, alongside climate change, in a unique, globally significant region