Generalized Hot Enhancons

We review what has been learnt and what remains unknown about the physics of hot enhancons following studies in supergravity. We recall a rather general family of static, spherically symmetric, non-extremal enhancon solutions describing D4 branes wrapped on K3 and discuss physical aspects of the solutions. We embed these solutions in the six dimensional supergravity describing Type IIA strings on K3 and generalize them to have arbitrary charge vector. This allows us to demonstrate the equivalence with a known family of hot fractional D0 brane solutions, to widen the class of solutions of this second type and to carry much of the discussion across from the D4 brane analysis. In particular we argue for the existence of a horizon branch for these branes.Comment: 25 pages, Late

School uniform costs are a source of financial and emotional stress for families living on a low income

Geoff Page, Maddy Power, and Ruth Patrick discuss how, for many families, school uniforms represent a financial burden that tips precariously balanced budgets firmly into the red. They call on the government to urgently target families with children for more financial support

Should Non-combatants Write about War?

A discussion from the perspective of an author of fiction and poetry about war, on the subject of war experience and imagination

Building back better: to end poverty, the government must listen to and learn from all forms of expertise

Ruth Patrick, Kayleigh Garthwaite, Maddy Power and Geoff Page write that recent political rhetoric is underpinned by a recognition that COVID-19 is inevitably a catalyst for change. They argue that if we are to truly ‘build back better’, we need to ensure that there are better mechanisms for listening to and engaging with various forms of expertise, including that which comes from lived experience

Budget 2021: a missed opportunity to make permanent the £20 increase to Universal Credit

Ruth Patrick, Kayleigh Garthwaite, Geoff Page, Maddy Power, and Katie Pybus comment on the government’s decision to extend the £20 uplift to Universal Credit by six months only. They argue that the increase should be a permanent one, as part of a broader commitment to reforming the social security system

A decision-support tool to inform Australian strategies for preventing suicide and suicidal behaviour

Dynamic simulation modelling is increasingly being recognised as a valuable decision-support tool to help guide investments and actions to address complex public health issues such as suicide. In particular, participatory system dynamics (SD) modelling provides a useful tool for asking high-level 'what if' questions, and testing the likely impacts of different combinations of policies and interventions at an aggregate level before they are implemented in the real world. We developed an SD model for suicide prevention in Australia, and investigated the hypothesised impacts over the next 10 years (2015-2025) of a combination of current intervention strategies proposed for population interventions in Australia: 1) general practitioner (GP) training, 2) coordinated aftercare in those who have attempted suicide, 3) school-based mental health literacy programs, 4) brief-contact interventions in hospital settings, and 5) psychosocial treatment approaches. Findings suggest that the largest reductions in suicide were associated with GP training (6%) and coordinated aftercare approaches (4%), with total reductions of 12% for all interventions combined. This paper highlights the value of dynamic modelling methods for managing complexity and uncertainty, and demonstrates their potential use as a decision-support tool for policy makers and program planners for community suicide prevention actions