The quality of Roman silver coinage is often taken an an index of the economic health of the empire, with a fall in silver content being taken as an indication of fiscal inadequacy. During the third century AD debased silver coinage came to dominate the currency system of the Roman world, coinciding with a period that historians have dubbed the 'third century crisis'. Between AD 194 and 260 the silver content of the coinage declined from just under 50% to less than 10%, and previous studies have proposed that this decline in quality was almost continuous. By about AD 260 new technologies had to be employed to make the coins look silvery and to disguise the fact that they were made mainly of copper. The continuous decline is thought to signify perpetual fiscal crisis, where revenues and resources could not match Rome's expenditure on its armies. It is generally thought that public confidence in the coinage waned, leading to inflation and the collapse of the monetary system. However, the evidence on which this account of monetary crisis is based is seriously flawed. Until AD 260 Roman mints were able to disguise the extent of debasement by deliberately enhancing the silvery surfaces of the coins using a technique known as depletion silvering, and previous analyses did not take this fact into account. Consequently we do not know anything for certain about the full extent of debasement between AD 194 and 260, or about the frequency of debasement. We do not know whether there were long periods of stability or even improvements during this period. While there can be no doubt that the silver content in AD 260 was much lower than in AD 194, the way in which the decline occurred - and thus the reasons for the decline - remain obscure. Previous work by the applicants on earlier periods have overturned the picture of continuous decline and perpetual fiscal crisis for those periods. It remains to be seen whether one of the cornerstones of the 'third century crisis', the collapse of the coinage, is a sustainable narrative. The aim of the project is to analyse 2,250 Roman silver coins for the period AD 194 to 260, to determine not only the fineness of the coins but also to use minor and trace elements, and lead isotope analyses, to inform us about sources of raw materials and production technology. One explanation for the dramatic fall in the silver content of the coinage is that the Roman empire ran out of stocks of fresh silver. If this is so, evidence of recycling should be readily apparent. In addition, weight standards will also be scrutinised. These are important for drawing comparisons between different denominations of silver coinage, but they are also an important component of the concept of monetary standards. Finally, a study of hoards will look for evidence that the public was aware of changes made to the coinage. The PI and Co-I form a strong interdisciplinary team of archaeometallurgist and ancient historian/archaeologist working closely together and with a successful track-record of synergistic collaboration on this topic going back over two decades. To summarise: currently we know almost nothing about the condition of Roman silver coinage between AD 194 and 260, the period leading to the presumed collapse of the currency. Through interdisciplinary study, this project will bring together metrology, fineness standards, hoard evidence, metal supply and production technology to provide a comprehensive picture of Roman silver coinage at a crucial point in the monetary history of the Roman empire.

When social workers work with children who have been or are likely to be abused or neglected, their first duty is to try to ensure the safety of the child. In many situations, such children can remain with their parents or main carers, so long as the necessary support can be provided to prevent further abuse or neglect from occurring. Where this is not possible, the removal of children into the care system is often the only remaining option. Crucial to maintaining a child successfully at home is the engagement of the parents with the necessary services, and the ability of those parents to make changes in their parenting behaviour. Unfortunately, the difficulties of assessing and understanding parents' engagement and capacities to change are significant. Instances are relatively common of social workers being over-optimistic about parents' abilities, or of misinterpreting willingness or friendliness towards professionals for a genuine ability to change their behaviour. Shortcomings of this kind have occurred in significant numbers of cases involving child deaths from abuse or neglect, the well-know case in the UK of 'Baby Peter' being a notable example. The principal investigator of the proposed project (Dr Platt) has extensive experience in both practice and research in relation to engaging parents with services, and working to change and enhance their parenting behaviour. Most recently, he has published a model that seeks to explain what leads to good engagement of parents with the necessary service interventions. This model will be used as the cornerstone for the project, which will involve developing methods and materials to help social workers assess, more accurately, parental engagement and capacity to change. The project will also draw on other relevant work, both at the University of Bristol, and (internationally) in social work and related disciplines. At the centre of this project will be a consultation with partner organisations to develop methods and materials that will be usable in the pressurised context of social work practice. Three organisations have agreed to work with the University of Bristol, all of which are local authority children's services departments in the South West of England. They have agreed to commit staff time to the collaborative development of these materials, working with a small team from the university, comprising the principal investigator, and a research associate who will be a social worker with relevant practice experience. Following an initial design phase, groups of staff in each partner agency will be given training in using the new methods, followed by a period during which consultancy will be provided to support the use of those materials in practice. Towards the end of the project, which has a proposed duration of 12 months, there will be an evaluation of the usefulness, applicability and success of the methods and materials that will have been developed. Following evaluation, the materials will be revised as necessary, and disseminated more widely. Dissemination will be through publication in suitably accessible formats, by offering training on a fee-paid basis to organisations who may request it, and through the usual academic outlets. Further evaluation of the impact of use of the materials on outcomes for children over a longer time frame would be beyond the scope of the project, but, depending on findings, a future funding bid from a suitable funder would be considered.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

The Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications (CAMERA) will build on and extend existing impactful relationships between leading researchers at the University of Bath supported by investment from the University, from external partners and with the close participation of Bath's EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre for Digital Entertainment (CDE). Building on existing expertise in Applied Visual Technology and closely linked with the CDE, CAMERA will draw on knowledge, skills and outputs across multi-disciplinary research areas. These include Computer Vision, Graphics, Motion-Capture, Human-Computer Interaction, Biomechanics and Healthcare, underpinned by a strong portfolio of DE research funding from RCUK and other funders. CAMERA will deliver Applied Visual Technology into our partners companies and their industries, to achieve high economic, societal and cultural impact. Bath leads the UK in innovative creative industry research and training for post-graduates through our CDE, which is contractually partnered with 35 innovative UK companies. Growing from our established core strength in the area of Visual Technology - capturing, modelling and visualising the real world - and our strong historical foundation of entertainment-delivered research, CAMERA will focus on high-impact work in movies, TV visual vffects (VFX) and video games with partners at the The Imaginarium and The Foundry, two of the world's leading visual entertainment companies. This focused collaboration will push the boundaries of technology in the area of human motion capture, understanding and animation, and artist driven visual effects production, feeding into our existing CDE partnerships. From this strong foundation, we will extend and apply visual technology to new areas of high economic, societal and cultural impact within the digital economy theme. These include Human Performance Enhancement, with partners in British Skeleton and BMT Defence Services; and Health, Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies, with partners in the Ministry of Defence. CAMERA is well placed to lead the application of Visual Technology in these new directions: Bath researchers have helped athletes to win 15 Olympic and World Championship medals in the last 10 years and have contributed significantly to national efforts in integrating ex-soldiers with disabilities into civilian life.