3,932 research outputs found
Paedophiles in the community: inter-agency conflict, news leaks and the local press
This article explores the leaking of confidential information about secret Home Office plans to house convicted paedophiles within a local community (albeit inside a prison). It argues that a politics of paedophilia has emerged in which inter-agency consensus on the issue of âwhat to doâ with high-profile sex offenders has broken down. Accordingly, the article situates newspaper âoutingâ of paedophiles in the community in relation to vigilante journalism and leaked information from official agencies. The article then presents research findings from a case study of news events set in train following a whistle-blowing reaction by Prison Officersâ Association officials to Home Office plans. Drawing from a corpus of 10 interviews with journalists and key protagonists in the story, the article discusses both the dynamics of whistle blowing about paedophiles and also what happens after the whistle has blown
Glass-Like Heat Conduction in High-Mobility Crystalline Semiconductors
The thermal conductivity of polycrystalline semiconductors with type-I
clathrate hydrate crystal structure is reported. Ge clathrates (doped with Sr
and/or Eu) exhibit lattice thermal conductivities typical of amorphous
materials. Remarkably, this behavior occurs in spite of the well-defined
crystalline structure and relatively high electron mobility (). The dynamics of dopant ions and their interaction with the
polyhedral cages of the structure are a likely source of the strong phonon
scattering.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures, to be published, Phys. Rev. Let
Reporting underage consensual sex after the Teddy Bear case: A different perspective
Doctors and researchers face a complex dilemma regarding the mandatory reporting of consensual underage sex, because of contradictions between the Childrenâs Act and the Sexual Offences Act. When providing underage children with sexual and reproductive health services, they have had to decide whether to provide these confidentially, in terms of the Childrenâs Act, or thereafter report the consensual but illegal sexual behaviour to the police, in terms of the Sexual Offences Act. The recent Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, and Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) v. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development case addressed whether consensual underage sex ought to be a criminal offence and thus reported. The court held that aspects of sections 15 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act infringed on the constitutional rights of adolescents (aged 12 - 15 years) by proscribing many consensual sexual activities. McQuoid-Mason has described this case in detail. He submits that following the judgement, doctors are no longer under a reporting obligation in relation to consensual underage sex. We respectfully disagree. This article critiques McQuoid-Masonâs approach, sets out our views on the mandatory reporting obligations after the Teddy Bear case and concludes with some comments on the judgementâs implications for researchers and medical practitioners
Cage-size control of guest vibration and thermal conductivity in Sr8Ga16Si30-xGex
We present a systematic study of thermal conductivity, specific heat,
electrical resistivity, thermopower and x-ray diffraction measurements
performed on single-crystalline samples of the pseudoquaternary type-I
clathrate system Sr8Ga16Si30-xGex, in the full range of 0 < x < 30. All the
samples show metallic behavior with n-type majority carriers. However, the
thermal conductivity and specific heat strongly depend on x. Upon increasing x
from 0 to 30, the lattice parameter increases by 3%, from 10.446 to 10.726 A,
and the localized vibrational energies of the Sr guest ions in the
tetrakaidekahedron (dodecahedron) cages decrease from 59 (120) K to 35 (90) K.
Furthermore, the lattice thermal conductivity at low temperatures is largely
suppressed. In fact, a crystalline peak found at 15 K for x = 0 gradually
decreases and disappears for x > 20, evolving into the anomalous glass-like
behavior observed for x = 30. It is found that the increase of the free space
for the Sr guest motion directly correlates with a continuous transition from
on-center harmonic vibration to off-center anharmonic vibration, with
consequent increase in the coupling strength between the guest's low-energy
modes and the cage's acoustic phonon modes.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PR
Glasslike vs. crystalline thermal conductivity in carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 clathrates (X = Ge, Sn)
The present controversy over the origin of glasslike thermal conductivity
observed in certain crystalline materials is addressed by studies on
single-crystal x-ray diffraction, thermal conductivity k(T) and specific heat
Cp(T) of carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 (X = Ge, Sn) clathrates. These crystals show
radically different low-temperature k(T) behaviors depending on whether their
charge carriers are electrons or holes, displaying the usual crystalline peak
in the former case and an anomalous glasslike plateau in the latter. In
contrast, Cp(T) above 4 K and the general structural properties are essentially
insensitive to carrier tuning. We analyze these combined results within the
framework of a Tunneling/Resonant/Rayleigh scatterings model, and conclude that
the evolution from crystalline to glasslike k(T) is accompanied by an increase
both in the effective density of tunnelling states and in the resonant
scattering level, while neither one of these contributions can solely account
for the observed changes in the full temperature range. This suggests that the
most relevant factor which determines crystalline or glasslike behavior is the
coupling strength between the guest vibrational modes and the frameworks with
different charge carriers.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Addressing legal and policy barriers to male circumcision for adolescent boys in South Africa
With millions of adolescents becoming infected with HIV globally, it is essential that barriers to much-needed interventions are reduced for at-risk adolescents. In this article we review the legal and policy framework in South Africa for adolescent access to male circumcision. We are of the view that the framework does confer protection for adolescent boys while enabling access to male circumcision; however, we identify ambiguities and tensions that exist between the Childrenâs Act, regulations and national guidelines. We recommend reform to further enable access by this vulnerable group to this prevention modality
Lattice thermal conductivity of disordered NiPd and NiPt alloys
Numerical calculations of lattice thermal conductivity are reported for the
binary alloys NiPd and NiPt. The present work is a continuation of an earlier
paper by us [PRB, 72, 214207 (2005)]which had developed a theoretical framework
for the calculation of configuration-averaged lattice thermal conductivity and
thermal diffusivity in disordered alloys. The formulation was based on the
augmented space theorem combined with a scattering diagram technique. In this
paper we shall show dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity on a series
of variables like phonon frequency, temperature and alloy composition. The
temperature dependence of and its realtion to the measured thermal
conductivity is discussed. The concentration dependence of appears to
justify the notion of a minimum thermal conductivity as discussed by Kittel,
Slack and others. We also study the frequency and composition dependence of the
thermal diffusivity averaged over modes. A numerical estimate of this quantity
gives an idea about the location of mobility edge and the fraction of states in
the frequency spectrum which is delocalized.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figure
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