Improving Use of Research in the Third Sector: A Journey with Apex Scotland

This case study describes a project to improve research use in Apex Scotland, and to share the learning with others. It includes details about the problem addressed through the project, what we did, what we found, the challenges faced and what was learnt about supporting the use of research in third sector organisations

Shaping the criminal justice system: the role of those supported by Criminal Justice Service

In Scotland, the development and delivery ofpersonalised social work services has been part of a wider public service reform agenda, building on Changing lives: report of the 21st century review of social work (Scottish Executive, 2006). This agenda has focused on harnessing the strengths, predilections, networks and capacities of those supported by services, to inform the design and delivery of services. To date, the place of criminal justice in this reform agenda has received comparatively limited attention (Weaver, 2011). This Insight focuses on the issue of involving those who have offended in shaping the criminal justice system, exploring the different models of involvement, the effectiveness of different approaches and the implications for Criminal Justice Social Work services

A study of two inward currents and their involvement in membrane potential oscillations of thalamocortical cells in vitro

In this study intracellular current clamp and single electrode voltage clamp experiments on single thalamocortical cells in brain slices of the cat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus have revealed the presence of two voltagedependent inward currents that are activated at relatively hyperpolarized membrane potentials. These currents have been isolated, characterized physiologically and pharmacologically, and their involvement in the generation of spontaneous membrane potential oscillations has been assessed. The first current is a low-threshold, transient, inward calcium ion current. It is called low-threshold because it is activated at relatively hyperpolarized membrane potentials, upon depolarization. Since it is a transient conductance it has been termed If and indeed, throughout its development, has many kinetic characteristics in common with T-type calcium conductances found in other cells, but its pharmacology differs somewhat. It has been found that IT is the generator of low-threshold calcium potentials i.e. of the large depolarizations seen in thalmocortical cells during membrane potential oscillations in vitro and in vivo. The second current is a slowly developing, non-inactivating, inward, mixed sodium/potassium ion current. This is an inward rectifier current as it is responsible for causing an increase in membrane conductance upon hypeipolarization. Since it is activated when a cell is hyperpolarized it has been termed Ih. Many of its kinetic properties and pharmacology are similar to those of mixed sodium/potassium ion inward rectifier currents found in other cells. Ih is responsible for depolarizing the cells membrane potential upon hyperpolarization and, like IT, has been found to be essential for spontaneous membrane potential oscillations. Enhancing or inhibitng Ih, with noradrenaline or caesium ions respectively, can transform one kind of oscillation into another or, indeed, inhibit them altogether

How and why people stop offending: discovering desistance

This is an evidence summary published by the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social services in Scotland (IRISS). It summarises evidence about desistance from crime and provides a series of recommendations for criminal justice policy, systems and practice

Policy divergence and devolution : the impact of actors and institutions

The creation of the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament in 1999 was accompanied with an aspiration that these new institutions would allow Scotland and Wales to develop their own policies, better suited to local needs than those designed in Westminster or Whitehall. This thesis explores policy-making in the first terms of the devolved institutions in Scotland and Wales, focusing on where the policies developed by these institutions diverged from those pursued at Westminster. Policy divergence is examined by studying the development of the financing long-term care for the elderly policies. The aim of this thesis is to identify why policy divergence occurred in the long-term care case, considering the impact of actors (or agents) and the institutional setting in which they operate, as suggested by Scharpf's model of actor-centred institutionalism. As actor-centred institutionalism suggested, both actors and institutions played a major role in shaping policy responses. In the Scottish case a range of actors cooperated and lobbied together for the introduction of free personal care, spurred on by the First Minister, who created an opportunity for those in favour of free personal care to pressurise his government to introduce the policy. In contrast, in Wales, actors were divided and never built up the same momentum to ensure the introduction of a more generous long-term care package. The institutional setting in which these actors operated was a major factor in shaping their policy preferences and the strategies they adopted to achieve them. This thesis considers the impact on policy-making of the devolved institution's electoral system, financial and legislative powers, design of the institutions, and the place of these institutions in a UK setting. The different institutional structures in Scotland and Wales provided different incentives and resources for actors, encouraged different styles of policy-making from Westminster and affected the way in which issues were framed. Examining the roles of actors and institutions in the formation of distinctive policies highlighted that in the real world these two elements are mutually dependent and cannot be separated. As a result it is impossible, and pointless, to determine whether actors or institutions were most influential on the development of distinctive policies. Instead this thesis explores how the difference between the configurations of actors and institutions in Scotland and Wales contributed to the creation of policies which were distinctive both from each other and the UK Government

Rights Respecting? Scotland's Approach to Children in Conflict With the Law

What the report ‘Rights Respecting? Scotland’s approach to children in conflict with the law’ shows is that many children who are in conflict with the law in Scotland do not experience ‘justice’ in the true meaning of the word. There is no justice in taking traumatised children; holding them solely responsible for their actions; putting them through processes they don’t understand, and are unable to participate in; blaming and stigmatising them whilst failing to give them what they need; putting barriers in the way of loving and caring relationships; and taking existing supports and opportunities away from them. The report concludes that Scotland would benefit from thinking about children in conflict with the law from the perspective of rights. This represents a shift from focusing on children as troubled, challenged, vulnerable and challenging, which whilst often well-meaning and containing a partial truth, can encourage negative unintended consequences which disproportionately affect and stigmatise the most disadvantaged children. Children in conflict with the law, like all children, are rights holders. They are entitled to their rights and should have their rights upheld

A forensic geoscience framework and practice

Appropriate and correct collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of geoforensic evidence are contingent upon understanding the specific context of the particular forensic investigation undertaken. To achieve this, the role of experimental studies in forensic geoscience must not be underestimated. In this article, we present two experimental studies that assess the spatial distribution of pollen in a living room and the nature of subsequent transfer of pollen onto clothing. The presence of cut flowers in a living room are shown to lead to a distribution of pollen grains onto all types of surface in that room that exhibits a distance–decay pattern with the greatest numbers of grains found in close proximity to the flowers. Once the transfer of pollen grains from a source location onto clothing has taken place, our second study demonstrates the nature of the persistence of that evidence for dry and damp clothing under active and inactive conditions. The level of activity after transfer is shown to have far more influence upon the persistence of this form of geoforensic evidence in comparison to the damp or dry conditions of the garment. We argue that these findings have implications for all stages of the forensic investigation–from sampling protocols to the interpretation of the presence/absence of geoforensic evidence. Whilst every contact does indeed leave a trace, it is imperative that there is an appreciation of the context of each forensic investigation, meaningful science take place and accurate and helpful crime reconstructions to be achieved

Living it : children, young people, justice

Our main aim in editing this issue has been to create a space for those who had contact with the justice system as young people to share their experiences and reflections.This issue represents an attempt to shift power and control a bit from the professionals who usually edit these types of things, to people who have lived it

The effect of consuming a liquid diet vs a solid diet 24-hr preexperimental trials on adherence in athletes

Discrepancies in energy and macronutrient intakes between tests are apparent even when a solid prepackaged diet (Sdiet) is used to standardize dietary intake for preexperimental trials. It is unknown whether a liquid prepackaged diet (Ldiet) leads to improved adherence, resulting in lower variability in energy and macronutrient intakes. This study assesses the ability of athletes to replicate a diet when an Ldiet or Sdiet was used as a dietary standardization technique. In a cross-over design, 30 athletes were randomly assigned to either Sdiet or Ldiet. Each diet was consumed for two nonconsecutive days. Participants were instructed to consume all the meals provided and to return any leftovers. The coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated for each nutrient for the two methods and reported as the average CV. The Bland–Altman plots show that differences between Days 1 and 2 in energy and macronutrient intakes for both diets were close to zero, with the exception of some outliers. The %CV for Sdiet was higher than Ldiet (5% and 3% for energy, 5% and 3% for carbohydrate, 5% and 2% for protein, and 5% and 3% for fat, respectively). There was a strong positive correlation for energy and all macronutrients between Days 1 and 2 for both methods (r > .80; p < .05). Ldiet is an effective technique to standardize diet preexperimental trials and could be used as an alternative to Sdiet. Furthermore, Ldiet may lead to additional improvements in the compliance of participants to the diet and also decrease the cost and time of preparation

Scotland - it's complicated

This presentation was made by Claire Lightowler, Director of CYCJ, at the Five Nations Youth Justice Conference 2014, which took place in Cardiff