Effective Approaches With Young Adults: A Guide for Probation Services

The aim of this guide is to give probation practitioners, whether in the National Probation Service or Community Rehabilitation Companies, the tools to deliver a more effective approach to young adults. It provides practical suggestions for effective ways to engage young adults and support their desistance from crime. It also includes suggestions for managers on what they can do to enable practitioners to improve outcomes within probation services

'Making its own history': New Zealand historical fiction for children,1862-2008

This thesis considers historical fiction for children and young people dealing with New Zealand history from the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers to the end of the nineteenth century. It provides both a comprehensive survey of historical novels published between 1862 and the end of 2008, and an analysis of the way the same historical events and periods have been depicted in historical novels written at different times. Individual chapters discuss books set during specific historical periods or dealing with particular events - the pre-European period, early contact, nineteenth century immigration, the New Zealand Wars, the gold rushes, and the colonial period - in chronological order of publication. Since children's literature is particularly adept at reflecting and promoting the dominant ideas of the society in which it is produced, the chronological consideration of these texts reveals contemporary attitudes to such issues as race relations, gender roles, class, war and conflict, and concepts of national identity, as well as the way historical fiction has responded to societal changes since the 1860s. The predominant themes of historical fiction set prior to 1900 are: the arrival of settlers in New Zealand; encounters with the country's indigenous inhabitants; the taming of the often hostile landscape; the assertion of the settlers' claims to 'belong' in their new land; and the establishment of New Zealand as a nation with distinctive characteristics. There are perceptible nuances and differences in the way these themes are discussed depending on the historical moment in which individual authors are writing. Novels of the Victorian period and early twentieth century reflect the imperialistic and evangelistic ethos of the time, and present the British settlers' right to colonize the land and the ensuing dispossession of Māori as largely unproblematic. Subsequent historical novels, particularly those written since the 1960s, offer a more inclusive version of New Zealand history, although the lack of historical fiction for children by Māori writers means that Eurocentric views of history continue to dominate, and that all representations of Māori and their history are mediated through Pakeha writers. Shifts in social attitudes have resulted in changes in the treatment of Māori in historical novels for children, and similar changes have occurred in the portrayal of gender, class, and ethnicity. The passage of time has seen increased agency and a wider variety of roles allocated to Māori, female and working class characters, as well as greater ethnic diversity. Developments in New Zealand historiography are also reflected in fiction, although at times historical fiction prefigures written histories, or provides alternative views by depicting the experience of women, children and Māori, who often did not feature in conventional histories. While many historical novels for children, especially the earlier texts, are adventure stories set in the past and are not necessarily concerned with historical verisimilitude, an increasing number attempt to present authentic recreations of historical periods, including accounts of actual people and events, based on extensive research, and reinforced with peritextual material in the form of historical notes, bibliographies, maps and photographs. The role of New Zealand historical fiction for children and young people has been not only to entertain young readers and inform them about their country's past, but to create and foster a sense of national identity

The America of Sinclair Lewis

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

The Delta of Impact: Mapping a Meta-Impact Pathway to Uncover Six Stepping Stones of Research Impact

This working paper explores how barriers to impact can be overcome using a unique methodology, devised to be collaborative and conducive, for understanding the many overlapping outcomes that add up to research impact from across a diverse programme of evidence. Ongoing analysis and examples from the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research illustrate the different pathways to impact and how leading researchers use a range of research and engagement strategies which interact and reinforce each other to produce outcomes.ESRC-DFI

Surface Enhanced Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy for the Detection of Breast Cancer Using Turbid Optical Phantoms

Breast cancer is a prevalent disease within today’s modern society, affecting 1 in 8 women and 1 in 870 men within a lifetime. With the introduction of mammographic breast screening in 1987 and marked improvements to targeted therapies, mortality rates declined, highlighting the need for early diagnosis and tailored treatment to halt disease progression in its foremost stages. Histology assessed biopsies, alongside initial two-view mammographic imaging, are paired as the current diagnostic “gold standard”. The need to incorporate several techniques, applying an “all-angles” approach to diagnostics, provides an effective, streamlined diagnostic pathway, reducing patient wait times between testing and results – crucial in preventing disease progression. Optical spectroscopic techniques for the characterisation of biomolecular compounds and structures present within tissue are fast becoming the biomedical analysis tools of choice, coming to the forefront of clinical applications. Raman spectroscopy is one such technique providing highly chemically specific results, in a non-ionising and non-invasive way. When used in conjunction with metal nanoparticle probes, the inherently weak Raman signals of the biomolecules surrounding the nanoparticle surface undergo extensive levels of enhancement – an eponymous technique, Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS). This thesis is split into two principal areas of study. The first explores extrinsic SERS nanoparticles at depth within optical phantoms, “imaged” in a Transmission orientation, mimicking the composition of the breast within a cranio-caudal mammographic imaging position. The second concerns the micro-Raman quantification of gold nanoparticles, functionalised to a biocompatible level for the active targeting of hydroxyapatite – a calcium apatite form which, when dominant within breast microcalcifications, act as a biomarker for malignancy. Key aspects drawn from the results include a greater understanding of Raman reporter gold nanoparticles at depth, and how the absorption profile of the sample material affects the garnered intensity profile. The synthesis of a novel nanoparticle probe was also founded, with promising future applications in terms of targeting and theranostic capabilities. Furthermore, a protocol into the implementation of an automated mapping system within an open optical set up is given, detailing the software, hardware and electrical installation requirements. The advantages of Raman spectroscopy integration within current diagnostic practices are highlighted, with limitations such as nanoparticle biocompatibility issues, the inherent optical properties of biological tissues, and system conditions touched upon.Cobalt Healt