Volunteer street patrols: an ethnographic study of three Manchester volunteer street patrols and their role in community safety and the policing family

The aim of this ethnographic research is to explore the actions, contribution, motivations and relationships of volunteer street patrols in the urban environment. The study followed three independent and diverse volunteer street patrol groups, located in the city of Manchester, UK, during their routine weekend evening patrols around the city. The research is set in a time when policing and the criminal justice system is under pressure following an extended period of austerity and cuts. As such, the voluntary sector has an ever-increasing role to play in supporting and substituting the state. The volunteers in this research are considered from the perspective of responsibilised citizenry, where the continual processes of empowerment and participation feature in their motivations to help others. The research uses participant observation over a twelve-month period to explore the actions of the volunteers whilst on patrol in the city. Semi-structured interviews complement the observations and provide rich information on what motivates volunteers to participate. Their relationships with each other and with the local police, ambulance service and other stakeholders in the city are considered. They provide an insight into the stories, opinions and experiences of the volunteers. The findings demonstrate how the presence of volunteers allows them to act as a guardian on the city’s streets, reducing opportunities for anti-social behaviour, harm and vulnerability. The actions of volunteers centre around reassurance, care, well-being and support. Their motivations show a collective efficacy and continual willingness to act to address the city’s problems, which the volunteers have an increased awareness of and a strong desire to address. While their independence remains key, accountability and legitimacy in their relationships with others form a local governance structure that must be maintained, managed and developed

Seeing behind the curtain: Reverse Mentoring within the Higher Education landscape

The following article presents the findings of a Reverse Mentoring evaluation project conducted at a modern university in northwest England, which has a high proportion of students from non-traditional educational backgrounds. Using a reverse mentoring framework, the traditional mentor–mentee relationship was flipped with students serving as senior partners and their tutors as junior partners. The purpose of this study was to investigate how staff–student relations could be strengthened by gaining a better understanding of one another’s perspectives. The concept of institutional habitus provided a theoretical framework within which to examine disparities in mentor–mentee cultural understanding. Using a mixed approach to data collection, composite narratives were constructed. They revealed subtle cultural mismatches between the positions of mentor and mentee. The study speculates that by gaining a better understanding and appreciation of students’ habitus, more inclusive teaching practises can be developed to ensure the inclusion of all students

The high-resolution map of Oxia Planum, Mars; the landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission

This 1:30,000 scale geological map describes Oxia Planum, Mars, the landing site for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission. The map represents our current understanding of bedrock units and their relationships prior to Rosalind Franklin’s exploration of this location. The map details 15 bedrock units organised into 6 groups and 7 textural and surficial units. The bedrock units were identified using visible and near-infrared remote sensing datasets. The objectives of this map are (i) to identify where the most astrobiologically relevant rocks are likely to be found, (ii) to show where hypotheses about their geological context (within Oxia Planum and in the wider geological history of Mars) can be tested, (iii) to inform both the long-term (hundreds of metres to ∼1 km) and the short-term (tens of metres) activity planning for rover exploration, and (iv) to allow the samples analysed by the rover to be interpreted within their regional geological context

Joint Europa Mission (JEM): A Multiscale, Multi-Platform Mission to Characterize Europa's Habitability and Search for Extant Life. A White Paper prepared for the NAS 2023-2032 Decadal Survey for Planetary Science and Astrobiology August 15th, 2020

International audienceIn this White Paper we propose that NASA works with ESA and other potentially interested international partners to design and fly jointly an ambitious and exciting planetary mission to characterize Europa's habitability and search for bio-signatures in the environment of Europa (surface, subsurface and exosphere). A White Paper prepared for the NAS 2023-2032 Decadal Survey for Planetary Science and Astrobiology August 15th, 202

The high-resolution map of Oxia Planum, Mars; the landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission

International audienceThis 1:30,000 scale geological map describes Oxia Planum, Mars, the landing site for theExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission. The map represents our current understanding ofbedrock units and their relationships prior to Rosalind Franklin’s exploration of this location.The map details 15 bedrock units organised into 6 groups and 7 textural and surficial units.The bedrock units were identified using visible and near-infrared remote sensing datasets.The objectives of this map are (i) to identify where the most astrobiologically relevant rocksare likely to be found, (ii) to show where hypotheses about their geological context (withinOxia Planum and in the wider geological history of Mars) can be tested, (iii) to inform boththe long-term (hundreds of metres to ∼1 km) and the short-term (tens of metres) activityplanning for rover exploration, and (iv) to allow the samples analysed by the rover to beinterpreted within their regional geological context