Digital currencies and organised crime update

Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, gambling, money laundering, illicit financing, narcotics trade, slave trade, sex trafficking, endangered species trafficking and the mafia, are all intertwined in the underbelly of crime, and the narrative behind these links are only just being explored and understood. Over the last couple of years organised crime is becoming more sophisticated due to the use of cryptocurrencies and using the family name of Mafia as a franchise to widen the criminal scope. There has been a great deal of activity within these areas which require further and a more in-depth investigation, yet outlined below is a brief overview of events

Book review: virtual economies: design and analysis by Vili Lehdonvirta and Edward Castronova

Virtual Economies provides a comprehensive and thought provoking view of how economics is much more than its academic definition and how virtual world economies could be a starting point for rethinking the problems of the real world economies. This is an excellent and understandable approach to a dynamic and timely topic, writes Clare Chambers-Jones

Evaluating multiagency interventions for children living with intimate partner violence in Birmingham

This research endeavour was born out of the need for a systematic evaluation of the efficacy of the multiagency Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment tool, which necessitates that all incidents of ‘domestic abuse’ (any incident within the family domain) reported to West Midlands Police, where a child or unborn child resides within that home, are scrutinised by Police and Social Care (and partners from Health, Education and the voluntary sector where possible) using a joint protocol. The primary purpose of the protocol is to promote safeguarding and provide a timely and appropriate response to children at risk following domestic abuse. The protocol incorporates the Banardos’ Multiagency Domestic Violence Risk Identification Threshold Scales (MDVRITS), which aids decision making about appropriate interventions based on predicted risk to children using a four level scale

Evaluating complex digital resources

Squires (1999) discussed the gap between HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and the educational computing communities in their very different approaches to evaluating educational software. This paper revisits that issue in the context of evaluating digital resources, focusing on two approaches to evaluation: an HCI and an educational perspective. Squires and Preece's HCI evaluation model is a predictive model ‐ it helps teachers decide whether or not to use educational software ‐ whilst our own concern is in evaluating the use of learning technologies. It is suggested that in part the different approaches of the two communities relate to the different focus that each takes: in HCI the focus is typically on development and hence usability, whilst in education the concern is with the learner and teacher use

Can you ever regulate the virtual world against virtual economic crime

The question of whether you can ever regulate the virtual world against economic crime is one which cannot be answered easily in practice or in theory. This paper examines this question as part of a much larger study into virtual economic crime. Economic crime and money laundering are occurring in many virtual worlds and to prevent them would have a positive impact on the negation of terrorist financing. However in order to prevent economic crime, the legal jurisdiction of virtual worlds must first be established. The paper examines the academic debate thriving between Internet separatist and inclusionist, outlining the philosophical approach of the paper in turn in order to discuss whether you can ever regulate against economic crime in virtual worlds

Multifluid Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in weakly ionised astrophysical plasmas

By expanding on the principles of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), we examine the dynamics of weakly ionised astrophysical plasma flows in a multifluid regime. This numerical study is carried out using the multifluid MHD code HYDRA. An outline of the structure of this code is given in chapter 2 and the schemes which are implemented integrates the MHD equations. We are interested in multifluid effects on fluid instabilities, in particular the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability. The KH instability could, for example, play a role in the momentum transfer between the bowshock of a protostellar jet and its surrounding molecular cloud. In particular, changes to the development of the KH instability as a result of including the multlifluid effects of ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect are isolated and individually studied in chapters 4 and 5 respectively. Finally, chapter 6 provides an in-depth examination of the respective roles these nonideal effects have in a multifluid astrophysical system in which both are expected to occur, such as a molecular cloud. Multifluid effects on protostellar jets are then examined in a broader context in chapter 7. As a jet propagates into a molecular cloud, it forms a bowshock of swept-up ambient material. As the molecular cloud material is weakly ionised, the bowshock is strongly susceptible to nonideal MHD effects below some characteristic length scale. Large-scale 3D simulations allow us to begin to understand the resulting dynamical differences in both the jet propagation and the structural evolution of the magnetic fields

Does studying taught postgraduate management education increase students’ perceptions of their employability?

Rationale: Employability features prominently in the current lexicon surrounding higher education. What is evident in the literature is that employability has no single definition and has evolved from an economic interpretation of the ability to secure work, to a multi-faceted concept, including skills, self-efficacy and self-regulated learning. Higher Education Institutions are coming under increasing pressure to address employability as part of their portfolio, while operating in an increasingly turbulent and competitive environment. Much of the existing research into employability in Higher Education concerns itself with the undergraduate population. There exists little research into postgraduate employability. This study seeks to contribute to that gap by exploring whether postgraduate management education has an impact on students’ perceptions of their employability. Research Methods: A sequential mixed methods approach was used involving two phases of data collection. Phase 1 was a survey of 450 students from two Universities’ Business Schools who completed a paper-based questionnaire. This quantitative data was analysed using SPSS. Phase 2 comprised follow-up interviews with 10 survey participants, following completion of their programme. The interviews were informed by the survey, and transcripts were analysed using NVIVO 10. Findings: Survey findings from the whole research population (n=450) saw some differences in students’ perceptions of their employability following their engagement with the taught programme. Postgraduate education has a more positive impact on females’ perceptions of skills and self-efficacy than on males’ perceptions. Students with work experience perceive their employability higher than those without work experience. Those without work experience perceive their skills and self-regulated learning higher after postgraduate education. Discussion: The similarity in results in students’ perceptions between the data collection points suggests more could be done within the programmes to make a difference to students’ perceptions of their employability. Where differences do exist suggests opportunities for specific interventions, to enhance students’ perceptions. Conclusion: Underpinning this work is the contention that increasing students’ perceptions of employability requires postgraduate education to enhance students’ perceptions of their skills, their perception of themselves as independent learners, and their perceived self-efficacy. Survey findings suggest postgraduate management education is achieving this aim in part, indicating opportunities for interventions to address this

Management of lower urinary tract symptoms in men : summary of NICE guidance

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Exploring changes in health visitors' knowledge, confidence and decision-making for women with perinatal mental health difficulties following a brief training package

Rationale and objective: Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) is an issue that spans the spectrum of pregnancy and childbirth and is now acknowledged to be significant on a global level. Health visitors (HVs) are increasingly expected to extend their knowledge and to understand and identify PMH in the antenatal period and across the spectrum from mild/moderate to severe. While training has been shown to enable HVs to identify post-natal depression (PND) effectively and reduce the proportion of women at risk, the mechanisms underpinning this success are unclear. This paper reports on the findings of a mixed methods study aimed at examining the impact of a single half day training session on perinatal mental health problems (PMHP) on HVs knowledge, confidence and empowerment in relation to managing PMH. Methods: Findings from data gathered by Likert Scales and focus group discussions are presented. Results: Training can empower HVs to identify PMHP beyond PND and plays a vital role in promoting confidence. Conclusions: This research highlights the potential that training of this type has on service provision and delivery. In a resource-limited service, the feasibility of a brief training package has demonstrated positive results for health visitors, childbearing women and their families