30472 research outputs found
Sort by
Policy at the mercy of fear: Déjà vu and the open prisons
Get PDFAbsconds from prison are at a historic low. The prison system in England and Wales does not offer an ‘open prison’ sentence, but individuals may be transferred to one of the 12 open prisons as part of their preparation for release. Since its inception, the open prison has been at the mercy of capricious policy. This tension is still apparent today. Events in 2022 led to the Justice Secretary imposing stricter transfer criteria; since then, the policy has been abandoned
Geological insights from the newly discovered granite of Sif Island between Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers
Get PDFLarge-scale geological structures have controlled the long-term development of the bed and thus the flow of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). However, complete ice cover has obscured the age and exact positions of faults and geological boundaries beneath Thwaites Glacier and Pine Island Glacier, two major WAIS outlets in the Amundsen Sea sector. Here, we characterize the only rock outcrop between these two glaciers, which was exposed by the retreat of slow-flowing coastal ice in the early 2010s to form the new Sif Island. The island comprises granite, zircon U-Pb dated to ~177–174 Ma and characterized by initial ɛNd, 87Sr/86Sr and ɛHf isotope compositions of -2.3, 0.7061 and -1.3, respectively. These characteristics resemble Thurston Island/Antarctic Peninsula crustal block rocks, strongly suggesting that the Sif Island granite belongs to this province and placing the crustal block's boundary with the Marie Byrd Land province under Thwaites Glacier or its eastern shear margin. Low-temperature thermochronological data reveal that the granite underwent rapid cooling following emplacement, rapidly cooled again at ~100–90 Ma and then remained close to the Earth's surface until present. These data help date vertical displacement across the major tectonic structure beneath Pine Island Glacier to the Late Cretaceous
The problem for REF 2029
No full textThe real problem for a future REF is that the erosion of tuition fee value has pushed workloads into "total hell" and most staff are struggling to get any research time out of REF funding, which is just being used to plug the tuition gap. Departments that fared extremely well in REF have nonetheless found themselves the targets of "voluntary" redundancy schemes because of the financial crisis in UK HE
The effect of potassium on aluminous phase stability in the lower mantle
Get PDFThe aluminous calcium-ferrite type phase (CF) and new aluminous phase (NAL) are thought to hold the excess alumina produced by the decomposition of garnet in MORB compositions in the lower mantle. The respective stabilities of CF and NAL in the nepheline-spinel binary (NaAlSiO4–MgAl2O4) are well established. However with the addition of further components the phase relations at lower mantle conditions remain unclear. Here we investigate a range of compositions around the nepheline apex of the nepheline-kalsilite-spinel compositional join (NaAlSiO4–KAlSiO4–MgAl2O4) at 28–78 GPa and 2000 K. Our experiments indicate that even small amounts of a kalsilite (KAlSiO4) component dramatically impact phase relations. We find NAL to be stable up to at least 71 GPa in potassium-bearing compositions. This demonstrates the stabilizing effect of potassium on NAL, because NAL is not observed at pressures above 48 GPa on the nepheline-spinel binary. We also observe a broadening of the CF stability field to incorporate larger amounts of potassium with increasing pressure. For pressures below 50 GPa only minor amounts () of potassium are soluble in CF, whereas at 68 GPa, we find a solubility in CF of at least . This indicates that CF and NAL are suitable hosts of the alkali content of MORB compositions at lower mantle conditions. For sedimentary compositions at lower mantle pressures, we expect K-Hollandite to be stable in addition to CF and NAL for pressures of 28–48 GPa, based on our simplified compositions
World Prison Population List (14th edition)
Get PDFSome 11.5 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, according to the latest edition of the World Prison Population List (WPPL), researched and compiled by Helen Fair and Roy Walmsley and published on 1 May 2024 by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR), at Birkbeck, University of London.
According to published prison population numbers, the total worldwide prison population stands at 10.99 million. However, the total is likely to be in excess of 11.5 million if numbers estimated to be held in detention centres in China and in prisons camps in North Korea are included
Protecting commonplace biodiversity under international conservation law
Get PDFA contemporary appraisal of the extent to which international conservation law provides
for the protection of commonplace biodiversity. It is argued that in light of the current
extinction crisis, biodiversity would be better served if the law focused more on protecting
common species rather than just the rare and endangered. Particular attention is paid to the
rationales behind conservation regulation and how different understandings of the value
have influenced the law’s development. Key conservation mechanisms, namely area-based
management, species-focused mechanisms and the ecosystem approach, are analysed in
relation to how they protect commonplace biodiversity, before a case study on the legal
protection of plants is presented. What is suggested is that international conservation law
has failed to keep pace with key developments in conservation science, resulting in a
regulatory system that appears structurally incapable of halting biodiversity loss. Reforming the law so that it provides greater protection to commonplace biodiversity would be
an important first step in responding to this
Coaching for neurodiversity
No full textBook synopsis: This comprehensive volume offers ideas, examples, and guidance to help coaches develop skills in their coaching practice, specifically in the areas of health and wellbeing as they are experienced by their clients.
The book also explores the growing importance of wellbeing coaching within the wider coaching world and the health sector. Starting with definitions of wellbeing and health coaching, then delving into health and wellbeing issues faced by clients, and tools for coaches along with their practical applications, this book includes theory, case studies, and reflection exercises so that readers can use it in a personal and practical way.
The Health and Wellbeing Coaches’ Handbook is an essential resource for coach practitioners, supervisors, and consultants working with clients, as well as for students in post-graduate programmes, including coaching, health and allied health professional programmes, and human resource professionals focusing on employee wellness
The application of serious games in virtual reality as intervention for sugar addiction
No full textThe escalating global health crisis of obesity, diabetes and heart conditions linked to disordered eating needs the implementation of effective interventions. Serious games, especially in Virtual Reality (VR), offer promising avenues for addressing these challenges through embodiment and emotional reactivity. Integrating gamification and mindfulness techniques, serious games can target addictive behaviours associated with sugar consumption. We propose to test the application of VR as a tool to address addictive sugar cravings in an 8-week serious games mindfulness based intervention. We hypothesise that the VR group will experience greater reductions in sugar addiction symptoms compared to the 2D computer-based group
Glacially influenced provenance and Sturtian affinity revealed by detrital zircon U–Pb ages from sandstones in the Port Askaig Formation, Dalradian Supergroup
Get PDFThe Cryogenian ‘Sturtian’ snowball Earth glaciation (c. 717–658 Ma) likely had a major role in shaping continental landscapes and biotic radiations of the late Neoproterozoic Era. However, an incomplete sedimentary record and inadequate syn-glacial age constraints make Cryogenian studies challenging. We present detrital zircon U–Pb ages for >2000 zircons from 11 sandstone samples taken at <200 m stratigraphic resolution throughout the Port Askaig Formation, a c. 1.1 km thick glaciogenic succession within the Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland and Ireland. Eight new maximum depositional age constraints, including a key constraint on deglaciation (<662.7 ± 7.8 Ma), support lithostratigraphic and stable isotope evidence that suggests the Port Askaig Formation preserves a relatively complete record of the global ‘Sturtian’ glaciation. An increasing contribution from Archean and Paleoproterozoic detritus to the sandstones through the lower c. 500 m of the Port Askaig Formation likely reflects the progressive glacial unroofing of the previously buried Lewisian Gneiss terrane. Archean and Paleoproterozoic grains then become scarce in the uppermost c. 300 m of the formation, which we attribute to glacial modification of the Laurentian continental margin landscape during the waning stage of ‘Sturtian’ glaciation. The disruption to sediment transport pathways caused by this modification, and evidenced by the detrital zircon data, points to partially warm-based ‘Sturtian’ ice sheets that were, to some degree, dynamic
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Birkbeck Institutional Research Online? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!