309 research outputs found
An Exploration of Teachers’ and Mental Health First Aiders’ Constructs of Mental Health in Secondary Schools
The socio-political and educational context in which this current research is situated supports a neoliberal agenda and therefore contributes to the complex discourse around mental health (MH) in the UK. However, as MH has become a higher-profile priority for the UK government, over the last decade, initiatives have begun to focus on promoting mental health in educational contexts. As a result, schools have been recognised as having the potential to embed universal approaches for positive MH development. One such school-based MH initiative was announced in 2017 with the introduction of Youth Mental Health First Aid training (MHFA) for every secondary school in England.
However, with the exception of an evaluative piece of research into the Youth MHFA programme, there is limited research into the views of secondary school practitioners’ interpretation of the term ‘mental health’ and perceived emotional availability to promote the MH of their students. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the ways in which a small group of Mental Health First Aiders and teachers working in mainstream schools constructed the term ‘mental health’.
Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Themes were explored and identified in relation to the practitioner’s understanding of the term ‘mental health’ and how available they feel, to promote their students’ mental health in school.
Numerous themes were identified in relation to the practitioners’ conceptualisation of MH, and alongside referring to a biomedical model, there was reflection upon the complex interaction between psychological and social factors related to the development of MH difficulties. Further, the significance of the relationships between school staff and their students, parents and colleagues within the context of supporting CYP’s mental health emerged from the analysis.
Findings also highlighted the ways in which school staff are available to promote their students’ MH, as well as the barriers which exist within this. For example, the impact of working in this field on school staffs’ wellbeing, which illustrates the importance of professional support, such as supervision, which it can be argued EPs are well placed to provide. In light of the current mental health challenges in the UK, the present study suggests that the introduction of specific interventions such as MHFA Champions need to be complemented by a wider whole-school systemic focus on MH and wellbeing which aims to connect CYP with their broader social and cultural worlds
Bent-Double Radio Sources as Probes of Intergalactic Gas
As the most common environment in the universe, groups of galaxies are likely
to contain a significant fraction of the missing baryons in the form of
intergalactic gas. The density of this gas is an important factor in whether
ram pressure stripping and strangulation affect the evolution of galaxies in
these systems. We present a method for measuring the density of intergalactic
gas using bent-double radio sources that is independent of temperature, making
it complementary to current absorption line measurements. We use this method to
probe intergalactic gas in two different environments: inside a small group of
galaxies as well as outside of a larger group at a 2 Mpc radius and measure
total gas densities of and per cubic centimeter (random and systematic
errors) respectively. We use X-ray data to place an upper limit of K on the temperature of the intragroup gas in the small group.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Ap
Simulations of the Origin and Fate of the Galactic Center Cloud G2
We investigate the origin and fate of the recently discovered gas cloud G2
close to the Galactic Center. Our hydrodynamical simulations focussing on the
dynamical evolution of the cloud in combination with currently available
observations favor two scenarios: a Compact Cloud which started around the year
1995 and a Spherical Shell of gas, with an apocenter distance within the
disk(s) of young stars and a radius of a few times the size of the Compact
Cloud. The former is able to explain the detected signal of G2 in the
position-velocity diagram of the Br gamma emission of the year 2008.5 and
2011.5 data. The latter can account for both, G2's signal as well as the
fainter extended tail-like structure G2t seen at larger distances from the
black hole and smaller velocities. In contrast, gas stripped from a compact
cloud by hydrodynamical interactions is not able to explain the location of the
detected G2t emission in the observed position-velocity diagrams. This favors
the Spherical Shell Scenario and might be a severe problem for the Compact
Cloud as well as the so-called Compact Source Scenario. From these first
idealized simulations we expect a roughly constant feeding of the supermassive
black hole through a nozzle-like structure over a long period, starting shortly
after the closest approach in 2013.51 for the Compact Cloud. If the matter
accretes in the hot accretion mode, we do not expect a significant boost of the
current activity of Sgr A* for the Compact Cloud model, but a boost of the
average infrared and X-ray luminosity by roughly a factor of 80 for the
Spherical Shell scenario with order of magnitude variations on a timescale of a
few months. The near-future evolution of the cloud will be a sensitive probe of
the conditions of the gas distribution in the milli-parsec environment of the
massive black hole in the Galactic Center.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures, accepted by Ap
The Chandra Detection of Galactic Center X-ray Features G359.89-0.08 and G359.54+0.18
We report on the detection of two elongated X-ray features G359.89-0.08 and
G359.54+0.18 in the Galactic center (GC) region using the Chandra X-ray
Observatory. G359.89-0.08 is an elongated X-ray feature located 2\arcmin
in projection south of the center of the Galaxy, SgrA. This X-ray feature
source is partially coincident with a slightly curved (``wisp''-like)
non-thermal radio source. The X-ray spectrum of G359.89-0.08 can be best
characterized as non-thermal, with a photon index of 2. The morphological and
spectral characteristics of the X-ray and radio emission associated with
G359.89-0.08 are best interpreted as the synchrotron emission from a
ram-pressure confined pulsar wind nebula. G359.54+0.18 is one of the most
prominent radio non-thermal filaments (NTFs) in the GC region, located
30\arcmin in projection from SgrA. A narrow (10\arcsec)
filament of X-ray emission appears to arise from one of the two strands that
comprise the radio NTF. Although the photon statistics are poor for this
source, the X-ray emission is also likely to be non-thermal in nature. Several
models for the production of X-ray emission in G359.54+0.18 are discussed.Comment: 19 pages with 6 figures included, accepted by A
Optical Properties of High-Frequency Radio Sources from the Australia Telescope 20 GHz (AT20G) Survey
Our current understanding of radio-loud AGN comes predominantly from studies
at frequencies of 5 GHz and below. With the recent completion of the Australia
Telescope 20 GHz (AT20G) survey, we can now gain insight into the
high-frequency radio properties of AGN. This paper presents supplementary
information on the AT20G sources in the form of optical counterparts and
redshifts. Optical counterparts were identified using the SuperCOSMOS database
and redshifts were found from either the 6dF Galaxy survey or the literature.
We also report 144 new redshifts. For AT20G sources outside the Galactic plane,
78.5% have optical identifications and 30.9% have redshift information. The
optical identification rate also increases with increasing flux density.
Targets which had optical spectra available were examined to obtain a spectral
classification.
There appear to be two distinct AT20G populations; the high luminosity
quasars that are generally associated with point-source optical counterparts
and exhibit strong emission lines in the optical spectrum, and the lower
luminosity radio galaxies that are generally associated with passive galaxies
in both the optical images and spectroscopic properties. It is suggested that
these different populations can be associated with different accretion modes
(cold-mode or hot-mode). We find that the cold-mode sources have a steeper
spectral index and produce more luminous radio lobes, but generally reside in
smaller host galaxies than their hot-mode counterparts. This can be attributed
to the fact that they are accreting material more efficiently. Lastly, we
compare the AT20G survey with the S-cubed semi-empirical (S3-SEX) models and
conclude that the S3-SEX models need refining to correctly model the compact
cores of AGN. The AT20G survey provides the ideal sample to do this.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
ATLBS Extended Source Sample: The evolution in radio source morphology with flux density
Based on the ATLBS survey we present a sample of extended radio sources and
derive morphological properties of faint radio sources. 119 radio galaxies form
the ATLBS-Extended Source Sample (ATLBS-ESS) consisting of all sources
exceeding 30" in extent and integrated flux densities exceeding 1 mJy. We give
structural details along with information on galaxy identifications and source
classifications. The ATLBS-ESS, unlike samples with higher flux-density limits,
has almost equal fractions of FR-I and FR-II radio galaxies with a large
fraction of the FR-I population exhibiting 3C31-type structures. Significant
asymmetry in lobe extents appears to be a common occurrence in the ATLBS-ESS
FR-I sources compared to FR-II sources. We present a sample of 22 FR-Is at
z>0.5 with good structural information. The detection of several giant radio
sources, with size exceeding 0.7 Mpc, at z>1 suggests that giant radio sources
are not less common at high redshifts. The ESS also includes a sample of 28
restarted radio galaxies. The relative abundance of dying and restarting
sources is indicative of a model where radio sources undergo episodic activity
in which an active phase is followed by a brief dying phase that terminates
with restarting of the central activity; in any massive elliptical a few such
activity cycles wherein adjacent events blend may constitute the lifetime of a
radio source and such bursts of blended activity cycles may be repeated over
the age of the host. The ATLBS-ESS includes a 2-Mpc giant radio galaxy with the
lowest surface brightness lobes known to date.Comment: 69 pages, 119 figures, 4 tables, to appear in ApJ
A Candidate Neutron Star Associated with Galactic Center Supernova Remnant Sagittarius A East
We present imaging and spectral studies of the supernova remnant (SNR)
Sagittarius (Sgr) A East from deep observations with the {\it Chandra X-Ray
Observatory}. The spatially-resolved spectral analysis of Sgr A East reveals
the presence of a two-temperature thermal plasma ( 1 keV and 5 keV)
near the center of the SNR. The central region is dominated by emission from
highly-ionized Fe-rich ejecta. We estimate a conservative upper limit on the
total Fe ejecta mass of the SNR, M 0.27 M. Comparisons
with standard SN nucleosynthesis models suggest that this Fe mass limit is
consistent with a Type II SN explosion for the origin of Sgr A East. On the
other hand, the soft X-ray emission extending toward the north of the SNR can
be described by a single-temperature ( 1.3 keV) thermal plasma with
normal chemical composition. This portion of the SNR is thus X-ray emission
from the heated interstellar medium rather than the metal-rich stellar ejecta.
We point out that a hard pointlike source CXOGC J174545.5285829 (the
so-called ``cannonball'') at the northern edge of the SNR shows unusual X-ray
characteristics among other Galactic center sources. The morphological,
spectral, and temporal characteristics of this source suggest an identification
as a high-velocity neutron star. Based on the suggested Type II origin for the
SNR Sgr A East and the proximity between the two, we propose that CXOGC
J174545.5285829 is a high-velocity neutron star candidate, born from the
core-collapse SN which also created the SNR Sgr A East.Comment: ApJ preprint style 28 pages, 1 color fig (fig1), Accepted by Ap
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