The regeneration of cells and cell sheets mediated by thermoresponsive substrates represents an important and ever growing area in tissue engineering. This review seeks to track the development of this field from inception to the present day by highlighting the most significant breakthroughs as well as focusing on important physical and chemical characterization of substrates produced for this specific purpose. Furthermore, a critical evaluation encompassing the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques used for producing such surfaces will be included as well as suggestions for possible future directions.
Why people remain involved in, or detach themselves from, criminal activity is not fully understood. This article presents the results of an investigation of psychosocial changes involved in the process of desistance among 73 male probationers in Dublin, Ireland. The stated desire of the great majority was to cease offending and their aspirations revolved around finding a job and a place to live, and stopping drug use. Generative concerns were raised infrequently. There was little evidence of agency, with few individuals talking of empowerment or selfmastery. These findings mark an interesting point of contrast with other research in this area.
There is a significant conceptual divide between criminological theories that treat offenders as rational agents who freely choose their actions and those that portray offenders as individuals whose behaviour is determined by external forces. Recently, research into desistance from crime has produced a more complex and nuanced account of crime causation which acknowledges the interplay between agency and structure. Yet, while the concept of agency is frequently invoked in contemporary discourse, the variety of definitions and measures employed by researchers makes it difficult to establish a clear and consistent picture of its role. This article attempts to address this deficit by evaluating the contributions of agency-centred theories of desistance. An integrated framework, which aims to consolidate existing knowledge about agency and provide additional insights into its role in desistance, is then proposed.
An important step on the journey towards desistance involves the reintegration of ex‐offenders into their communities. In order to desist fully, individuals must gain access to new social resources, overcome existing problems and ‘knife off’ their criminal pasts. They must also find ways to make amends for the harm they have caused. Yet, the reality is that many ex‐offenders continue to experience high levels of social marginalization and low levels of life success at least when measured using conventional indicators. Appropriate social policies can encourage desistance and improve the life chances of ex‐offenders, for example by increasing their social and human capital or addressing obstacles to change.The Irish Probation Service offers a useful site for exploring the nexus between social and criminal justice policies. Irish probation officers use a welfare‐oriented, casework approach and endeavour to assist probationers with personal and social problems. The new penology has yet to make substantial inroads in this jurisdiction and the signs that indicate a shift in this direction, such as a focus on risk management, punishment and cognitive behavioural work, are not entrenched.Drawing on the results of a prospective study of desistance among adult men on probation, this article examines the extent to which probation policy and practice support the desistance process. In particular, it explores participants' perceptions of the state response to their desistance attempt and whether this response enhanced or impeded their efforts to change. Finally, it proposes policy recommendations that would help to promote desistance.
The lives and experiences of those on probation supervision are often invisible and dismissed as unimportant or worse 'an easy option'. This article reviews two different studies in England and Ireland, which utlised an innovative technique, Photovoice, to foreground the challenges that are faced by probationers on their journey towards desistance. The difficulties they face such as stigma, social judgement and exclusion are exposed as well as their need for emotional calm, support and understanding from their supervisors and the wider community. Photovoice as a methodological and creative tool is revealed as a novel and expressive means to develop insight into probation supervision and an effective technique for undertaking cross-national research which can communicate across cultural boundaries.
This article presents the results of an investigation into the psychosocial changes involved in the early stages of desistance, which to date have attracted little empirical or theoretical attention. The study used a mixed-methods design to produce a nuanced account of the shifts that occur in cognitions and social circumstances as offenders make the transition to desistance. Three psychometric instruments were completed by 73 adult males aged 18 to 35 who had acquired at least two previous convictions and were living in Dublin, Ireland. Participants who reported no offending in the past month were defined as ''primary desisters.'' In a regression analysis, age, age at onset of offending, and criminal thinking styles emerged as important predictors of primary desistance, whereas social circumstances and pro-criminal attitudes did not. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
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