Enhancing the work of the Islington Integrated Gangs Team: A pilot study on the response to serious youth violence in Islington

This report is the result of research conducted by the Centre for City Criminology at City, University of London, in partnership with Islington’s Integrated Gangs Team (IGT) and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The research was co-funded by MPS and the School of Arts and Social Sciences, City, University of London. Following a collaborative research event in October 2017, City Criminologists were commissioned to carry out a small-scale research project to capture the work of the IGT and to make recommendations regarding its operations, coherence, effectiveness and sustainability. The research team conducted semi-structured interviews over several months with 23 practitioners across the services that constitute the IGT. This report presents the findings and recommendations

Discrete Element Modelling of Rock Cutting Processes Interaction with Evaluation of Tool Wear

The document presents a numerical model of rocks and soils using spherical Discrete Elements, also called Distinct Elements. The motion of spherical elements is described by means of equations of rigid body dynamics. Explicit integration in time yields high computational efficiency. Spherical elements interact among one another with contact forces, both in normal and tangential directions. Efficient contact search scheme based on the octree structures has been implemented. Special constitutive model of contact interface taking into account cohesion forces allows us to model fracture and decohesion of materials. Numerical simulation predicts wear of rock cutting tools. The developed numerical algorithm of wear evaluation allows us us to predict evolution of the shape of the tool caused by wear. Results of numerical simulation are validated by comparison with experimental data

Celebrity Coverage

Celebrity coverage is defined as mediated attention provided to well‐known individuals who through their state of fame become newsworthy. Coverage of celebrities ranges from stories about famous people in categories such as Hollywood, sports, politics, and music as well as celebrities who become famous through digital media. Celebrity journalism focuses on the process of becoming famous, known as the celebrification of individuals, and the influence celebrities have on politics, culture, and activism known as celebritization. Through an increasing interest in its content, celebrity coverage has turned into an economic good for media organizations. While celebrities continue to rely on mass media channels, digital media have changed not only celebrity culture, but also celebrity journalism

Interaction of Salivary alpha-Amylase and Amylase-Binding-Protein A (AbpA) of Streptococcus gordonii with Glucosyltransferase of S. gordonii and Streptococcus mutans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glucosyltransferases (Gtfs), enzymes that produce extracellular glucans from dietary sucrose, contribute to dental plaque formation by <it>Streptococcus gordonii </it>and <it>Streptococcus mutans</it>. The alpha-amylase-binding protein A (AbpA) of <it>S. gordonii</it>, an early colonizing bacterium in dental plaque, interacts with salivary amylase and may influence dental plaque formation by this organism. We examined the interaction of amylase and recombinant AbpA (rAbpA), together with Gtfs of <it>S. gordonii </it>and <it>S. mutans</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The addition of salivary alpha-amylase to culture supernatants of <it>S. gordonii </it>precipitated a protein complex containing amylase, AbpA, amylase-binding protein B (AbpB), and the glucosyltransferase produced by <it>S. gordonii </it>(Gtf-G). rAbpA was expressed from an inducible plasmid, purified from <it>Escherichia coli </it>and characterized. Purified rAbpA, along with purified amylase, interacted with and precipitated Gtfs from culture supernatants of both <it>S. gordonii </it>and <it>S. mutans</it>. The presence of amylase and/or rAbpA increased both the sucrase and transferase component activities of <it>S. mutans </it>Gtf-B. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using anti-Gtf-B antibody verified the interaction of rAbpA and amylase with Gtf-B. A <it>S. gordonii abp</it>A-deficient mutant showed greater biofilm growth under static conditions than wild-type in the presence of sucrose. Interestingly, biofilm formation by every strain was inhibited in the presence of saliva.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggest that an extracellular protein network of AbpA-amylase-Gtf may influence the ecology of oral biofilms, likely during initial phases of colonization.</p

Transverse rectification in density-modulated two-dimensional electron gases

We demonstrate tunable transverse rectification in a density-modulated two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). The density modulation is induced by two surface gates, running in parallel along a narrow stripe of 2DEG. A transverse voltage in the direction of the density modulation is observed, i.e. perpendicular to the applied source-drain voltage. The polarity of the transverse voltage is independent of the polarity of the source-drain voltage, demonstrating rectification in the device. We find that the transverse voltage $U_{y}$ depends quadratically on the applied source-drain voltage and non-monotonically on the density modulation. The experimental results are discussed in the framework of a diffusion thermopower model.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, published in PR

'Mine's a Pint of Bitter': Performativity, gender, class and representations of authenticity in real-ale tourism

Leisure choices are expressive of individual agency around the maintenance of taste, boundaries, identity and community. This research paper is part of a wider project designed to assess the social and cultural value of real ale to tourism in the north of England. This paper explores the performativity of real-ale tourism and debates about belonging in northern English real-ale communities. The research combines an ethnographic case study of a real-ale festival with semi-structured interviews with organisers and volunteers, northern English real-ale brewers and real-ale tourists visiting the festival. It is argued that real-ale tourism, despite its origins in the logic of capitalism, becomes a space where people can perform Habermasian, communicative leisure, and despite the contradictions of preferring some capitalist industries over others on the basis of their perceived smaller size and older age, real-ale fans demonstrate agency in their performativity

Performing heritage: the use of live 'actors' in heritage presentations

This paper investigates the phenomenon of 'living history' presentations of heritage, using live 'actors' to portray historical characters. Its aim is to discuss these presentations in the context of what may be understood as 'heritage', and of the nature of 'performance'. Four case studies of heritage sites, each important as a tourist attraction, have been selected for detailed study, together with a number of other examples of heritage performance. It is clear from the empirical work that different performance strategies are employed within the heritage industry and by individual 'actors'. Most of the performers take part as a leisure activity, and many do not consider themselves to be 'performing' at all. The greatest concern of participants lies in the degree of authenticity of the performance. Through 'living history', the 'actors' are drawn into an experience of heritage which has real meaning for them, and which may contribute both to a sense of identity and to an enhanced understanding of society, past and present. The popularity of such presentations with visitors also indicates that similar benefits are perceived by the 'audience'

The eventization of leisure and the strange death of alternative Leeds

The communicative potential of city spaces as leisure spaces is a central assumption of political activism and the creation of alternative, counter-cultural and subcultural scenes. However, such potential for city spaces is limited by the gentrification, privatization and eventization of city centres in the wake of wider societal and cultural struggles over leisure, work and identity formation. In this paper, we present research on alternative scenes in the city of Leeds to argue that the eventization of the city centre has led to a marginalization and of alternative scenes on the fringes of the city. Such marginalization has not caused the death of alternative Leeds or political activism associated with those scenes—but it has changed the leisure spaces (physical, political and social) in which alternative scenes contest the mainstream