A Review of the Research on Offender Supervision in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

This paper reviews existing research on offender supervision in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Three distinct areas are considered: practising offender supervision, experiencing supervision and decision-making in this sphere. The material presented draws on findings from a European-wide research action under the Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) initiative. The review highlights some of the gaps in knowledge and the need to focus research attention in this area. This need is underlined by the expansion in probation’s role, both North and South. In common with other countries there has been a growth in referrals to probation and in the numbers of people subject to supervision, whether on a community sentence or under post-custodial licence conditions. This review highlights some of the relevant factors including the increased emphasis placed on public protection and attempts to reduce the prison population. The circulation of people through systems and the experiences, processes and decision-making involved are all areas that we argue are worthy of further research attention

Charikleia in Context.

This is a full-length study of Charikleia, the heroine of Heliodoros' Ailhiopika. I set Charikleia in both her literary and cultural/ historical context. The thesis is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter, 1 discuss Charikleia within the genre of the Greek novel. The second chapter focuses on the issue of virginity and looks at the relationship between the Aiihiopika and early Christian literature, in particular, the Acts of Paul and Thekla. The final chapter focuses on the issue of women and education and considers the literary evidence regarding women philosophers

High-speed chromatic dispersion monitoring of a two-channel WDM system using a single TPA microcavity

Chromatic dispersion monitoring of two 160 Gb/s wavelength channels using a TPA Microcavity is presented. As the microcavity exhibits a wavelength resonance characteristic, a single device could monitor a number of different WDM-channels sequentially

Wavelength tuneable pulse monitoring using a Two-Photon-Absorption microcavity

Two Photon Absorption (TPA) is a non-linear optical-to-electrical conversion process that can be significantly enhanced by placing the active region within a resonance microcavity. The experiment confirmed the potential use of the microcavity structure for monitoring a single channel in multi-wavelength systems. The cavity can be designed for different applications depending on desired resonance width or cavity life time allowing the contrast ratio to be further improved. Due to the possibility of tuning the resonance wavelength by cavity tilting, a single device can be used to monitor a number of WDM channels without the need for additional optical filters

Resonance tuning of two-photon absorption microcavities for wavelength-selective pulse monitoring

We show the potential use of a single photodetector for multichannel pulse monitoring. Two-photon absorption in a microcavity structure is used as the nonlinear optical technique for pulse monitoring. Angle tuning of the device allows the resonance to be tuned. For the device studied here that is optimized for 2-ps pulses, a possible tuning range of 55 nm is shown

Optical signal processing via two-photon absorption in a semiconductor microcavity for the next generation of high-speed optical communications network

Due to the introduction of new broadband services, individual line data rates are expected to exceed 100 Gb/s in the near future. To operate at these high speeds, new optical signal processing techniques will have to be developed. This paper will demonstrate that two-photon absorption in a specially designed semiconductor microcavity is an ideal candidate for optical signal processing applications such as autocorrelation, sampling, and demultiplexing in high-speed wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) and hybrid WDM/optical time-division-multiplexed networks

Chromatic dispersion monitoring of 80-Gb/s OTDM data signal via two-photon absorption in a semiconductor microcavity

In this letter, a novel method of chromatic dispersion monitoring via two-photon absorption (TPA) is investigated. A specially designed semiconductor microcavity is employed as a TPA detector for monitoring data signals operating at rates up to 80Gb/s. As the microcavity has a wavelength-dependent response, a single device can be used to monitor multiple channels in a multiwavelength optical telecommunication syste

Exploring the acceptability of a clinical decision rule to identify paediatric burns due to child abuse or neglect

Objective An evidence based clinical decision rule (CDR) was developed from a systematic review and epidemiological study to identify burns due to child maltreatment (abuse or neglect). Prior to an implementation evaluation, we aim to explore clinicians' views of the CDR, the likelihood that it would influence their management and factors regarding its acceptability. Methods A semistructured questionnaire exploring demographics, views of the CDR and data collection pro forma, ability to recognise maltreatment and likelihood of following CDR recommended child protection (CP) action, was administered to 55 doctors and nurses in eight emergency departments and two burns units. Recognition of maltreatment was assessed via four fictitious case vignettes. Analysis Fisher's exact test and variability measured by coefficient of unalikeability. Results The majority of participants found the CDR and data collection pro forma useful (45/55, 81.8%). Only five clinicians said that they would not take the action recommended by the CDR (5/54, 9.3%). Lower grade doctors were more likely to follow the CDR recommendations (p=0.04) than any other grade, while senior doctors would consider it within their decision making. Factors influencing uptake include: brief training, background to CDR development and details of appropriate actions. Conclusions It is apparent that clinicians are willing to use a CDR to assist in identifying burns due to child maltreatment. However, it is clear that an implementation evaluation must encompass the influential variables identified to maximise uptake

Chromatic dispersion monitoring for high-speed WDM systems using two-photon absorption in a semiconductor microcavity

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation into the use of a two-photon absorption (TPA) photodetector for use in chromatic dispersion (CD) monitoring in high-speed, WDM network. In order to overcome the inefficiency associated with the nonlinear optical-to-electrical TPA process, a microcavity structure is employed. An interesting feature of such a solution is the fact that the microcavity enhances only a narrow wavelength range determined by device design and angle at which the signal enters the device. Thus, a single device can be used to monitor a number of different wavelength channels without the need for additional external filters. When using a nonlinear photodetector, the photocurrent generated for Gaussian pulses is inversely related to the pulsewidth. However, when using a microcavity structure, the cavity bandwidth also needs to be considered, as does the shape of the optical pulses incident on the device. Simulation results are presented for a variety of cavity bandwidths, pulse shapes and durations, and spacing between adjacent wavelength channels. These results are verified experimental using a microcavity with a bandwidth of 260 GHz (2.1 nm) at normal incident angle, with the incident signal comprising of two wavelength channels separated by 1.25 THz (10 nm), each operating at an aggregate data rate of 160 Gb/s. The results demonstrate the applicability of the presented technique to monitor accumulated dispersion fluctuations in a range of 3 ps/nm for 160 Gb/s RZ data channel