Advocacy for looked after children and children in need: achievements and challenges

This briefing paper offers a summary of the key findings of ‘Advocacy for looked after children and children in need: achievements and challenges’, the first national study of children’s advocacy in England. The study was prepared for the Department of Health and the DfES. The study was undertaken for a number of reasons: despite the relatively rapid increase in the number of advocacy services for children and young people over the last decade or so, relatively little is known about the extent to which advocacy makes a positive difference to the lives of individual children or to developments in children’s services more generally. Evidence also suggests that, in order to reduce the scope for conflict or confusion, there is a need to raise awareness about the principles and practices of advocacy among practitioners and policy makers working in the field of children’s health and social care. This study sought to address these gaps in knowledge and to create a platform for an evidence-based debate about the future of advocacy for children and young people

Where does work belong anymore? The implications of intensive homebased working

Purpose: The purpose of this ‘thought piece’ is to consider the everyday realities of homebased working and the implications for work during a global pandemic and beyond. Approach: We present a conceptual framework for considering the domestic sphere as a social space and apply this framework to consider the existing evidence base on homebased working. In particular, we consider the implications of homebased working during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of gender. Findings: We identify key challenges in relation to flexibility, work intensification and socio-economic differences. Consideration of these areas highlights the potential pitfalls and challenges that are likely to persist as many organisations begin to plan for an increase in homebased working. Originality: We argue that some commentators have been too quick to celebrate the apparent successes of the sudden, unplanned move to intensive homebased working. Important differences in occupation, gender and other socio-economic factors will have important implications for the experience of homebased working for many workers and their co-residents.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

TRUNK AND UPPER EXTREMITY KINEMATICS OF THE OFFSIDE FOREHAND POLO SWING IN PROFESSIONAL POLO ATHLETES

The purpose of this study was to examine trunk (flexion, lateral flexion, rotation) and upper extremity (shoulder horizontal abduction, elevation, and elbow flexion) kinematics of the offside forehand polo swing between professional male and female polo athletes. Kinematic data were collected while participants performed the offside forehand polo swing on a stationary wooden horse. The polo swing was analyzed at three events: take away (TA), top of back swing (TOB) and ball contact (BC). Results revealed significant differences in trunk and upper extremity kinematics between the male and female professional polo athlete. Further investigation into these mechanical differences, along with the influence of live play and performance variables are necessitated to understand mechanics for the most powerful swin

Don't say goodbye to Zoom yet: most people want to get back to the office, but not for the full week

First paragraph: As more and more good news about vaccines has come pouring in, Zoom has watched its shares tumble. Contrary to nervous markets, however, we believe video conferencing and remote working are here to stay - whether we like it or not.https://theconversation.com/dont-say-goodbye-to-zoom-yet-most-people-want-to-get-back-to-the-office-but-not-for-the-full-week-15105

Star Formation in the Northern Cloud Complex of NGC 2264

We have made continuum and spectral line observations of several outflow sources in the Mon OB1 dark cloud (NGC 2264) using the Heinrich Hertz Telescope (HHT) and ARO 12m millimeter-wave telescope. This study explores the kinematics and outflow energetics of the young stellar systems observed and assesses the impact star formation is having on the surrounding cloud environment. Our data set incorporates 12CO(3-2), 13CO(3-2), and 12CO(1-0) observations of outflows associated with the sources IRAS 06382+1017 and IRAS 06381+1039, known as IRAS 25 and 27, respectively, in the northern cloud complex. Complementary 870 micron continuum maps were made with the HHT 19 channel bolometer array. Our results indicate that there is a weak (approximately less than 0.5%) coupling between outflow kinetic energy and turbulent energy of the cloud. An analysis of the energy balance in the IRAS 25 and 27 cores suggests they are maintaining their dynamical integrity except where outflowing material directly interacts with the core, such as along the outflow axes.Comment: 28 pages including 6 figures, to be published in ApJ 01 July 2006, v645, 1 issu

People are missing their daily commute in lockdown - here's why

First paragraph: The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a unique experiment in mass homeworking. It’s the first time since before the industrial revolution that most people are working in the same space that they live. While just 5% of the UK labour force worked from home in 2019, by April 2020 this suddenly hit nearly 50%.https://theconversation.com/people-are-missing-their-daily-commute-in-lockdown-heres-why-14286

Exploring the genetic aetiology of trust in adolescents:Combined twin and DNA analyses

Behavioral traits generally show moderate to strong genetic influence, with heritability estimates of around 50%. Some recent research has suggested that trust may be an exception because it is more strongly influenced by social interactions. In a sample of over 7,000 adolescent twins from the United Kingdom’s Twins Early Development Study, we found broad sense heritability estimates of 57% for generalized trust and 51% for trust in friends. Genomic-relatedness-matrix restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) estimates in the same sample indicate that 21% of the narrow sense genetic variance can be explained by common single nucleotide polymorphisms for generalized trust and 43% for trust in friends. As expected, this implies a large amount of unexplained heritability, although power is low for estimating DNA-based heritability. The missing heritability may be accounted for by interactions between DNA and the social environment during development or via gene–environment correlations with rare variants. How these genes and environments correlate seem especially important for the development of trust