Maltreated children in the Looked After System: a comparison of outcomes for those who go home and those who do not

This project focuses on the consequences of decisions to reunify children who had entered the looked-after system for abuse or neglect. It compares the progress and outcomes of a sample of maltreated children who either went home or remained in the looked-after system

Servicing the federation : the case for metadata harvesting

The paper presents a comparative analysis of data harvesting and distributed computing as complementary models of service delivery within large-scale federated digital libraries. Informed by requirements of flexibility and scalability of federated services, the analysis focuses on the identification and assessment of model invariants. In particular, it abstracts over application domains, services, and protocol implementations. The analytical evidence produced shows that the harvesting model offers stronger guarantees of satisfying the identified requirements. In addition, it suggests a first characterisation of services based on their suitability to either model and thus indicates how they could be integrated in the context of a single federated digital library

The importance of the electronic contribution to linear magnetoelectricity

We demonstrate that the electronic contribution to the linear magnetoelectric response, usually omitted in first-principles studies, can be comparable in magnitude to that mediated by lattice distortions, even for materials in which responses are strong. Using a self-consistent Zeeman response to an applied magnetic field for noncollinear electron spins, we show how electric polarization emerges in linear magnetoelectrics through both electronic- and lattice-mediated components -- in analogy with the high- and low-frequency dielectric response to an electric field. The approach we use is conceptually and computationally simple, and can be applied to study both linear and non-linear responses to magnetic fields.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Ab-initio prediction of a new multiferroic with large polarization and magnetization

We describe the design of a new magnetic ferroelectric with large spontaneous magnetization and polarization using first-principles density functional theory. The usual difficulties associated with the production of robustly-insulating ferromagnets are circumvented by incorporating the magnetism through {\it ferri-}magnetic behavior. We show that the the ordered perovskite \BFCO will have a polarization of $\sim$80 $\mu$C/cm$^2$, a piezoelectric coefficient of 283 $\mu$C/cm$^{2}$, and a magnetization of $\sim$160 emu/cm$^3$ (2 $\mu_B$ per formula unit), far exceeding the properties of any known multiferroic

Parents' attributional, emotional and behavioural reactions towards aggressive behaviour in learning disabled and non learning disabled children

OBJECTIVE: The attributions parents make about the challenging behaviour of their children have been shown to be important determinants of their emotional and behavioural responses to such behaviour. In general, studies have found that if parents judge a child's behaviour to be caused by factors that are internal or controllable, then they will experience more negative emotions and respond using more punitive discipline strategies. To date, no study has directly compared parents' attributional, emotional and behavioural responses to challenging behaviour in learning disabled children with that of non-learning disabled children. In this study, it was hypothesised that parents would have different attributional, emotional and behavioural responses to aggressive challenging behaviour in a learning disabled child in comparison to a non-learning disabled child, on account of the child's learning disability.Design: A questionnaire method was used to analyse within-subjects and between subjects differences on measures of attributional, emotional and behavioural responses to vignettes of aggressive challenging behaviour in learning disabled and non-learning disabled children.METHOD: Fifty-four parents of children with aggressive challenging behaviour (20 with a learning disabled child and 34 with a non-learning disabled child) took part in the study. Participants read two vignettes depicting a learning disabled and a non learning-disabled child with aggressive challenging behaviour. They were then asked to complete questionnaire measures of attributional, emotional and behavioural response in relation to each vignette.RESULTS: In comparison to aggressive behaviour in the non-learning disabled child, participants rated the learning disabled child's aggressive behaviour as being due to more global, more stable and less controllable causes, and reported that they would respond with less negative emotion and less punitive discipline strategies. No group differences (i.e. comparing parents with a learning disabled child and parents with a 1 non-learning disabled child) were found in attributional, emotional or behavioural responses to the two vignettes. The results are discussed with reference to previous research findings and clinical implications. Consideration is also given to the methodological shortcomings ofthe current study and suggestions for future research are made

Historic Centers Restoration and Ancient Buildings Energetic Efficiency Improvement

The historical center is a part of the city with specific environmental, architectural and historical values, which emerges from the urban fabric structural continuity. This complex reality requires a comprehensive understanding to determinate the most proper ways to carry out functional transformations and system adaptations, with respect to historical buildings values. Each building must obtain those proper improvements and functional adjustments, also in terms of technology and energetic efficiency. The achievements of a complex interdisciplinary research project on Ceglie Messapica historical center (BR, Italy) are explained. They lead to guidelines for mulation for the historical buildings’ critical conservative restoration