Coventry University

About: Coventry University is a education organization based out in Coventry, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Higher education. The organization has 4964 authors who have published 12700 publications receiving 255898 citations. The organization is also known as: Lanchester Polytechnic & Coventry Polytechnic.

Social work, poverty, and child welfare interventions

Abstract: The relationship between children's material circumstances and child abuse and neglect raises a series of questions for policy, practice, and practitioners. Children and families in poverty are significantly more likely to be the subject of state intervention. This article, based on a unique mixed-methods study of social work interventions and the influence of poverty, highlights a narrative from practitioners that argues that, as many poor families do not harm their children, it is stigmatizing to discuss a link between poverty and child abuse and neglect. The data reveal that poverty has become invisible in practice, in part justified by avoiding stigma but also because of a lack of up-to-date research knowledge and investment by some social workers in an “underclass” discourse. We argue, in light of the evidence that poverty is a contributory factor in the risk of harm, that it is vital that social work engages with the evidence and in critical reflection about intervening in the context of poverty. We identify the need for fresh approaches to the harms children and families face in order to support practices that engage confidently with the consequences of poverty and deprivation.

The Geography of Organic Farming in England and Wales in the 1990s

Abstract: Little research has been conducted on the changing geographical distribution of organic farming in England and Wales in the 1990s. Using officially published secondary data, this paper examines the changing patterns of organic farming between 1993 and 1997, based on the number of organic farms, the area devoted to organic farming, the number of exits from and conversions to organic farming, and specific organic enterprises. The analysis indicates a process of spatial rationalisation, in which organic farming is becoming increasingly concentrated in a core area in Central-Southern England. Further, more detailed work is required, of both an empirical and conceptual nature, before a full explanation of such patterns can be given.

Ultrasound-assisted electrodeposition of nickel: Effect of ultrasonic power on the characteristics of thin coatings

Abstract: The effect of ultrasonic power on the characteristics of low-frequency ultrasound-assisted electrodeposited Ni coatings from an additive-free Watts bath has been evaluated by different methods. XRD analysis showed that, while mechanical agitation favoured the electrocrystallization of Ni in the [211] direction, ultrasound promoted the electrodeposition of Ni with a [100] preferred orientation. FIB-SEM images of the surface of Ni deposits not only indicated that the surface structure agreed to some extent with the XRD results, but also that ultrasound refined, to a certain extent, some of the grains of the surface of the coatings. FIB-SEM images of the cross-section of the coatings confirmed this effect of ultrasound on the microstructure of the deposits. Such change in the microstructure of Ni, along with work-hardening by ultrasound, resulted in an increase in the hardness of the deposits. The characteristics of the deposits depended on the ultrasonic power employed, and it was found that Ni coatings electrodeposited using an ultrasonic power of 0.124 W/cm3 presented the higher proportion of crystals with a [100] preferred orientation, the highest degree of grain refinement in the surface and the highest microhardness values. Nevertheless, these deposits also presented visible erosion marks on the surface of the coatings due to the formation of transient bubble structures near the surface of the cathode during the electrodeposition. These erosion marks might be considered the main drawback to the use of ultrasound during the electrodeposition.

Child welfare inequalities in the four nations of the UK

Abstract: Comparative international data on patterns of inequality in child welfare interventions, for example, the proportion of children about whom there are substantiated child protection concerns or who are in out-of-home care, are far less developed than data about inequalities in health. Few countries collect reliable, comprehensive information and definitions, methods of data collection and analysis are rarely consistent. The four UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) provide a potential ‘natural experiment’ for comparing intervention patterns. This study reports on a large quantitative, descriptive study focusing on children in contact with children’s services on a single date in 2015. It found that children’s chances of receiving a child protection intervention were related to family socio-economic circumstances, measured by neighbourhood deprivation, within all four countries. There was a strong social gradient which was significantly steeper in some countries than others. Ethnicity was another important factor underlying inequalities. While inequalities in patterns of intervention between the four countries were considerable, they did not mirror relative levels of deprivation in the child population. Inequalities in intervention rates result from a combination of demand and supply factors. The level and extent of inequity raise profound ethical, economic and practical challenges to those involved in child protection, the wider society and the state.