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The COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study was designed and implemented as a rapid survey of the psychosocial impacts of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), known as COVID-19 in residents across the United Kingdom. This study utilised a longitudinal design to collect online survey based data. The aim of this paper was to describe (1) the rationale behind the study and the corresponding selection of constructs to be assessed; (2) the study design and methodology; (3) the resultant sociodemographic characteristics of the full sample; (4) how the baseline survey data compares to the UK adult population (using data from the Census) on a variety of sociodemographic variables; (5) the ongoing efforts for weekly and monthly longitudinal assessments of the baseline cohort; and (6) outline future research directions. We believe the study is in a unique position to make a significant contribution to the growing body of literature to help understand the psychological impact of this pandemic and inform future clinical and research directions that the UK will implement in response to COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensed and soil sample data are used in two approaches for mapping soil properties in precision agriculture: management zone (MZs) and contour maps. This is the second paper in a two-part series that focuses on contour maps. Detailed and accurate contour maps of soil properties for precision agriculture are often costly to produce because of the large sampling effort required. Such maps or those of sensed ancillary data are often simplified to represent MZs. This research investigated the accuracy of detailed maps of soil properties produced inexpensively from sensed data by transforming them to z-scores. The z-scores of ancillary values are then transformed to values of soil variables using the mean and standard deviation of a small soil data set. The errors from this mapping approach are examined with historic soil data from three field sites with different scales of spatial variation in the United Kingdom. Errors from the conversion of z-scores of sensed data to soil variable ranges are compared with those from MZ averages (Paper I in this series). For soil properties with a moderate relation to ancillary data, the errors related to the z-score conversion were small irrespective of sample size. The root mean squared errors associated with the MZ mean rather than values from the digital map were generally smaller except when sample size was very small. The results suggest that when the scale of variation is small and more samples are required to define MZs, calibrating z-scores of sensed ancillary data may provide better MZ averages than sampling on a grid; it also provides a detailed map of spatial variation within the field. The z-score conversion approach is less sensitive to sample size and captures small features of the variation compared to the standard 100 m grid sampling to determine MZ averages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensed and soil sample data are used in two main approaches for mapping soil properties in precision agriculture: management zones (MZs) and contour maps. This is the first of two papers that explores maps of MZs. Management zones based on variation in sensed data that are related to the more permanent soil properties assume that the zones are multi-purpose. Soil properties are then often sampled on a grid to provide the average values of each property per zone. This paper examines the plausibility of this approach by examining how the number of samples taken on a grid and the application of kriging affect mean soil property values for MZs. The suitability of MZs based on ancillary data for managing several agronomically important properties simultaneously is also considered. These concepts are examined with historic soil data from four field sites in southern UK with different scales of spatial variation. Results showed that when the grid sampling interval is large, there is less difference in the means of properties between MZs, but kriging the soil data increased the differences between zones when the sampling interval was large and sample small. Sensed data are used increasingly to aid the identification of MZs, but these could not be considered multi-purpose at all sites. The MZs produced were most useful for phosphorus (P), pH and volumetric water content (VWC) at the Wallingford site and useful for most properties at the Clays and Y215 sites. For the latter site this was true only when the most dense data were used to calculate MZ averages. The results show that sampling interval for MZ averages should relate to the scale of variation or the size of the MZs at a site. The sampling density could be based on the variogram range of ancillary data. This research suggests that there should be 6–8 samples per zone to obtain accurate averages of soil properties. Nutrient data for more than one year were examined at two sites and showed that patterns remained consistent in the short term unless variable-rate management was used, but also the range of values changed in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to social protection in old age is crucial and yet contingent upon negotiations between the social structures of the welfare states and the personal networks within which individuals are embedded. International migration, changing family dynamics, and the transformation of care and other welfare policies in the global North make it challenging for older migrants to negotiate social protection. Drawing on 45 semi-structured interviews with first-generation older Turkish migrants in London and 13 semi-structured interviews with professional service providers for the community, the paper aims to investigate the assemblages of formal and informal social protection in the lives of older migrants. Findings indicate the complexity in accessing informal social protection and the navigation of formal care support in the UK for first generation older Turkish migrants and the contingency of access to formal care services on informal support networks for participants. It has been demonstrated that built infrastructure and policies aimed at older adults have great influence on assemblages of care, highlighting the need for more age-friendly and integrated policies to facilitate access to social protection for diverse groups of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spurred by the rapid modernisation of the sector and the advent of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), audiovisual (AV) piracy is at epidemic levels, with interventions having limited effect. To date, the dominant themes in interventions have been around personal deterrence (i.e. the threat of legal action) and have not considered other factors that may influence an individual's decision to consume infringing content. In this paper, we consider psychological factors, including perceptions around risk-taking, security behaviours, problematic internet use and personality traits, to gain a comprehensive understanding of factors influencing engagement with IPTV and the potential implications for cyber security. For this purpose, a survey was conducted with 283 participants living in the UK (age range 18–74, male 104), and an integrated structural equation model was constructed. Our findings showed a positive relationship between security behaviours and the perceived risk of viewing IPTV and a negative relationship between the dark personality triad and the perceived risk of viewing IPTV. They suggest that security behaviours fully mediate the relationship between problematic internet use and IPTV risk-taking, indicating a potential new path for anti-piracy interventions with greater efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire testing enables an individual or an organisation to make a claim about how a material, product, or system will perform in operational use. This paper describes and analyses the various reaction-to-fire tests that have used over the last 100 years in the UK. By analysing the commonalities and differences between these tests we propose a 'taxonomy of testing'. We suggest that tests may be classified by the degree to which users may unthinkingly apply the results—without leading to negative fire safety outcomes. We propose three categories: unrepresentative tests; model tests; and technological proof tests. Unrepresentative tests are those which do not mimic building fire scenarios, but have thresholds so conservative that users need not consider whether the test was applicable to their intended application. Model tests are those based on 'models' of expected fire scenarios—users must therefore be confident that the model is sufficiently similar to their application. Technological proof tests are those which provide a more realistic test of a real building system—users must carefully analyse the similarities between their test and the real building before applying the results. From this we conclude that where user competence is low, policymakers should cite only unrepresentative (and conservative tests) within their guidance. Conversely where user competence is high, policy makers may more safety cite model or technological proof tests. The kinds of tests that may be safely cited in guidance are therefore indelibly linked to the expertise of the user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jonathan Shay argued that social, relational, and institutional contexts were central to understanding moral injury and conceptualised moral injury as a normative response to the betrayal of an individual's understanding of what is right by a more senior/authoritative "other". Using the conceptual lens of moral injury, this paper investigates academic staff experiences of HE during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the rapid transition back to face-to-face teaching that took place in autumn 2020. To collect data, we used an online survey that opened in January 2021 and ran until the end of March 2021. A total of 663 complete questionnaires were received across the survey period. The questionnaire was comprised of ten topic-related questions, each of which included follow-up sub-questions and also invited participants to write in additional information. The majority of participants felt that during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, they had acted in ways that put their own health and wellbeing at risk. Of those who had acted in ways that put their health and wellbeing at risk, they believed that their senior management were the most responsible for them acting in such ways, followed by the UK government. Qualitative data showed a systemic absence of leadership in the sector during the time, a sense of betrayal of staff and students by senior management and the government, and feelings of compulsion to act in ways which put lives at risk. On the basis of these results, we argue that there could be synergies between the situation facing healthcare staff and academics during the pandemic. Many of the experiences of HE academic staff during the pandemic reported to us in this research are resonant with the concepts of betrayal and moral injury and resulted in affective responses which we understand here in relation to feelings of guilt, shame, and anger, leading ultimately to poor mental health and wellbeing. This paper discusses implications for the HE sector going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of teledermatology (TD) in Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) at various stages of patient care. The study aims to assess the benefits, limitations, and patient experiences surrounding TD integration into MMS practices. We conducted a PubMed search using keywords related to TD and MMS, categorizing selected articles into pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative stages of MMS. TD reduced waiting times (26.10 days for TD compared to 60.57 days for face-to-face [FTF]) and consultation failure rates (6% for TD vs. 17% for FTF) for MMS preoperative consultations. It also shortened time to treatment by two weeks and led to notable travel savings (162.7 min, 144.5 miles, and $60.00 per person). Telepathology facilitated communication and decision-making during MMS, improving accuracy and efficiency, especially in challenging cases requiring collaboration where physical presence of another surgeon or pathologist is not feasible. Telepathology definitively diagnosed benign lesions and malignant tumors in 81.8% of cases (18/22). Additionally, there was a 95% agreement between conventional light microscopy diagnosis and telepathology in tumors (19/20), and 100% agreement for all 20 Mohs frozen section consultations. For post-operative follow-up, telephone follow-up (TFU) and text messaging proved effective, cost-efficient alternatives with high patient satisfaction (94% in New Zealand and 96% in the U.K.) and early complication identification. This study underscores TD's multifaceted benefits in MMS: enhanced patient experience preoperatively, improved communication during surgery, and cost-effective postoperative follow-up. Limitations include the financial expense and technical issues that can arise with TD (connectivity problems, delays in video/audio transmission, etc.). Further studies are needed to explore emerging TD modalities in post-operative patient management. The integration of TD into MMS signifies a progressive step in dermatological care, offering convenient, cost-effective, and better solutions with the potential to enhance patient experiences and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thinking about organised crime as an ecosystem is not only novel but also offers much potential to add to the theoretical and policy-based literature in this area. While organised crime is often analysed as relationships between criminal groups and consumers of illicit goods/services, little work has analysed specific forms of organised crime activities as ecosystems where different constituent parts are dependent upon each other for the crime activity to occur. This paper analyses the organisation of sexual exploitation by entrepreneurial organised crime groups selling sex in the United Kingdom. Based upon 30 interviews with 23 law enforcement forces in England and Wales and five interviews with Adult Service Website Operators; it identifies how an ecosystem is built that ensures (a) profit generation and (b) avoidance of legal prosecution. Our analysis not only illustrates how a market 'supply' and 'demand' ecosystem is generated through mutually convenient 'organiser', 'marketer' and 'buyer' relationships, but also how the roles of these actors ensure sexual exploitation continues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the European Commission's 'Banking Package', introducing a series of amendments to the key legal sources of EU banking regulation, a comprehensive proposal for the treatment of third country branches of credit institutions (i.e., branches of institutions licensed by non-EU jurisdictions seeking authorisation in an EU Member State) has been presented. If and when ultimately adopted, this new framework will, for the first time, harmonise the applicable authorisation procedures and substantive conditions for authorisation hitherto left exclusively to the discretion of EU Member States. Under the new regime, the equivalence of third country regulatory and supervisory approaches with EU banking regulation will play a role, albeit a limited one. While taking up, and refining, approaches that have been present in a range of Member States for some time already, the new framework will require others to fundamentally change their existing regimes. The new amendments will be of particular relevance for the future regulatory relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, since a bespoke arrangement for continuing access of UK financial intermediaries to the EU markets has not been achieved, and UK credit institutions wishing to continue to operate within the EU other than through legally separate and independently capitalised subsidiaries have to rely on authorisations as third country branches. Against this backdrop, the present paper presents a functional analysis of the incoming regime in light of experiences made with regard to the existing landscape of diverging national laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of emergency medicine, the swift adoption of lung ultrasound (LU) has extended from the adult population to encompass pediatric and neonatal intensivists. LU stands out as a bedside, replicable, and cost-effective modality, distinct in its avoidance of ionizing radiations, a departure from conventional chest radiography. Recent years have witnessed a seamless adaptation of experiences gained in the adult setting to the neonatal and pediatric contexts, underscoring the versatility of bedside Point of care ultrasound (POCUS). This adaptability has proven reliable in diagnosing common pathologies and executing therapeutic interventions, including chest drainage, and central and peripheral vascular cannulation. The surge in POCUS utilization among neonatologists and pediatric intensivists is notable, spanning economically advanced Western nations with sophisticated, high-cost intensive care facilities and extending to low-income countries. Within the neonatal and pediatric population, POCUS has become integral for diagnosing and monitoring respiratory infections and chronic and acute lung pathologies. This, in turn, contributes to a reduction in radiation exposure during critical periods of growth, thereby mitigating oncological risks. Collaboration among various national and international societies has led to the formulation of guidelines addressing both the clinical application and regulatory aspects of operator training. Nevertheless, unified guidelines specific to the pediatric and neonatal population remain lacking, in contrast to the well-established protocols for adults. The initial application of POCUS in neonatal and pediatric settings centered on goal-directed echocardiography. Pivotal developments include expert statements in 2011, the UK consensus statement on echocardiography by neonatologists, and European training recommendations. The Australian Clinician Performed Ultrasound (CPU) program has played a crucial role, providing a robust academic curriculum tailored for training neonatologists in cerebral and cardiac assessment. Notably, the European Society for Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC) recently disseminated evidence-based guidelines through an international panel, delineating the use and applications of POCUS in the pediatric setting. These guidelines are pertinent to any professional tending to critically ill children in routine or emergency scenarios. In light of the burgeoning literature, this paper will succinctly elucidate the methodology of performing an LU scan and underscore its primary indications in the neonatal and pediatric patient cohort. The focal points of this review comprise as follows: (1) methodology for conducting a lung ultrasound scan, (2) key ultrasonographic features characterizing a healthy lung, and (3) the functional approach: Lung Ultrasound Score in the child and the neonate. Conclusion: the aim of this review is to discuss the following key points: How to perform a lung ultrasound scan Main ultrasonographic features of the healthy lung The functional approach: Lung Ultrasound Score in the child and the neonate What is Known: • Lung Ultrasound (LUS) is applied in pediatric and neonatal age for the diagnosis of pneumothorax, consolidation, and pleural effusion. • Recently, LUS has been introduced into clinical practice as a bedside diagnostic method for monitoring surfactant use in NARDS and lung recruitment in PARDS. What is New: • Lung Ultrasound (LUS) has proven to be useful in confirming diagnoses of pneumothorax, consolidation, and pleural effusion. • Furthermore, it has demonstrated effectiveness in monitoring the response to surfactant therapy in neonates, in staging the severity of bronchiolitis, and in PARDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper asks whether the separation of mental health from its wider social context during the UK benefits assessment processes is a contributing factor to widely recognised systemic difficulties, including intrinsically damaging effects and relatively ineffective welfare-to-work outcomes. Methods: Drawing on multiple sources of evidence, we ask whether placing mental health—specifically a biomedical conceptualisation of mental illness or condition as a discrete agent—at the core of the benefits eligibility assessment process presents obstacles to (i) accurately understanding a claimant's lived experience of distress (ii) meaningfully establishing the specific ways it affects their capacity for work, and (iii) identifying the multifaceted range of barriers (and related support needs) that a person may have in relation to moving into employment. Results: We suggest that a more holistic assessment of work capacity, a different kind of conversation that considers not only the (fluctuating) effects of psychological distress but also the range of personal, social and economic circumstances that affect a person's capacity to gain and sustain employment, would offer a less distressing and ultimately more productive approach to understanding work capability. Conclusion: Such a shift would reduce the need to focus on a state of medicalised incapacity and open up space in encounters for more a more empowering focus on capacity, capabilities, aspirations, and what types of work are (or might be) possible, given the right kinds of contextualised and personalised support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemistry education of future researchers is crucial if we are to decarbonise economies and reach targets for net zero, and this arguably begins with education in electrochemistry within undergraduate degrees. This paper reviews the teaching of electrochemistry in UK universities at the undergraduate degree level. We review where and how electrochemical concepts are introduced into chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science programmes. We provide some motivation for this review, which was stimulated by discussions from a workshop on the 'Future of Fundamental Electrochemistry Research in the UK', held in 2022. We summarise briefly how consensus on UK degree programme course content has been reached and inconsistencies that remain. Electrochemistry curriculum content from a convenience sample of UK universities, and disciplines, has been collected and is summarised, with a reflection on some trends. Finally, we present some implications for policy. A roadmap is suggested to ensure that the teaching of electrochemical fundamentals is addressed in the curriculum at an appropriate level to underpin the many technically relevant applications of electrochemistry that graduates will encounter in their further education or employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective is to provide a nonparametric bootstrap method for functional data that consists of independent realizations of a continuous one-dimensional process. The process is assumed to be nonstationary, with a functional mean and a functional variance, and dependent. The resampling method is based on nonparametric estimates of the model components. Numerical studies were conducted to check the performance of the proposed procedure, by approximating the bias and the standard error of two estimators. A practical application of the proposed approach to pollution data has also been included. Specifically, it is employed to make inference about the annual trend of ground-level ozone concentration at Yarner Wood monitoring station in the United Kingdom. Supplementary material to this paper is provided online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatially misaligned data problem occurs when data at different spatial scales need to be combined. Bayesian hierarchical models such as melding and downscaler approaches are suitable to solve this problem but their application is limited when MCMC is used for inference due to the high computational cost. The use of INLA and SPDE represents an alternative to MCMC for Bayesian inference that enables faster inference for latent Gaussian models. In this paper, we describe how INLA and SPDE can be adapted to fit Bayesian melding and downscaler models to combine spatially misaligned data. We assess the performance of the models using simulated and real data in a range of scenarios and sampling strategies and compare the suitability of the models in each situation. We also show how to obtain fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) predictions in the UK at a continuous surface and at policy-relevant spatial scales by combining spatially misaligned monitoring station data, satellite-derived indicators, road information, and environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of research to allocate government funding to universities is now common across the globe. The Research Excellence Framework, introduced in the UK in 2014, marked a major change by extending assessment beyond the 'quality' of published research to include its real-world 'impact'. Impact submissions were a key determinant of the £4 billion allocated to universities following the exercise. The case studies supporting claims for impact are therefore a high stakes genre, with writers keen to make the most persuasive argument for their work. In this paper we examine 800 of these 'impact case studies' from disciplines across the academic spectrum to explore the rhetorical presentation of impact. We do this by analysing authors' use of hyperbolic and promotional language to embroider their presentations, discovering substantial hyping with a strong preference for boosting the novelty and certainty of the claims made. Chemistry and physics, the most abstract and theoretical disciplines of our selection, contained the most hyping items with fewer as we move along the hard/pure – soft/applied continuum as the real-world value of work becomes more apparent. We also show that hyping varies with the type of impact, with items targeting technological, economic and cultural areas the most prolific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with an insidious onset. The widespread application of omics techniques in AD has attracted considerable attention. We aimed to make a comprehensive analysis of published omics articles on AD in order to determine the research profile and application trends of omics techniques in AD. Methods: This study utilizes bibliometric and visual methods including a map collaboration map, co-citations, and keywords to identify knowledge structures, hot topics, and research trends based on 6,828 publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. Results: The results of this study showed that 5654 institutions from 91 countries published articles in this field. The USA, China, and the UK played a leading role in publishing numerous articles in relevant journals as well as prolific institutions and authors, respectively. This paper collects a large number of literatures on the application of AD omics technology from the WoSCC database and found the omics technology applied to AD is mainly based on genomics technology. The application of transcriptomics technology has shown an increasing trend in recent years, and the application of multi-omics technology will be the general trend in the future. Conclusion: The development status, frontier hotspots, and general trends of omics application technologies are reviewed. This article will provide intelligence support to researchers and institutions in the field of Alzheimer's omics research and applications from a practical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-conferences like COP26 in Glasgow (UK) in 2021 have brought the debate on energy consumption and climate change to the fore. Given that a third of the energy produced worldwide is consumed in the home, it is pertinent to investigate how households use emerging technologies that allow households to monitor their energy consumption. This paper investigates how Danish households use green IT to monitor and manage their energy use and studies the related meaning householders attach to the green IT. We present qualitative data collected through interviews with 14 households, electric car owners mostly, who have adopted an application to monitor green energy availability – and its derived consumption. The paper highlights these householders' green energy monitoring practices with an emphasis on the meaning they make of the green IT application they used. Our study found that households can use more green energy without interacting continuously with the green IT application. This contrasts with a common assumption in the field of green IT design that consumers must continuously engage with the green IT to consume more green energy. We also posit that including householders in future green IT design is paramount for designing successful green IT applications. Finally, this paper calls for household energy consumption studies to view energy consumption as a service where specific practices are matched to energy sources – rather than viewing energy availability as a solitary incident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper presents a critical reflection of pertinent methodological and ethical issues associated with qualitative research on domestic abuse, and synthesises existing models of research to provide ethical, practical, and methodological implications. Methods: Drawing on the combined research and front-line experience of the authors it explores four critical areas: power, participation, payment, and platform. Results: Current practices sometimes lack transparency and may perpetuate marginalisation in studies of some with lived experience of domestic violence and abuse which can be considered symbolic violence. There lacks consistency in participant payment, or research on participants' perceptions of payment. The final section addresses challenges of including perpetrators as participants, highlighting the learning that could occur as a result of inclusion, noting the associated risks of perceived collusion or endorsement of harmful behaviour. Conclusions: This paper contributes to scholarship regarding domestic abuse research through exploration of participation, remuneration, and the unique complexities of domestic abuse perpetrator involvement. We foreground the importance of articulating and managing power dynamics in domestic abuse research, and suggest measures to ensure such dynamics are mitigated successfully to ensure participation is accessible to all. The paper argues for further consideration of payment protocols, and inclusion of the decision-making process in published research. Further it recognises perpetrator exclusion from research can result in victim/survivors being held responsible for raising awareness and developing knowledge of domestic abuse, consequently researchers should consider perpetrator participation where possible. The paper concludes with recommendations for those engaged in domestic violence and abuse research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main issues in the debate on urban constitutionalism is how constitutions can recognize the increasingly important role of cities in relation to the nation-state. This paper examines what we talk about when we talk about city autonomy. This is a pressing question, particularly in the context of European unitary states. This paper pays special attention to the context of two of such states, namely the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (especially England). First, it explores the notion of subsidiarity, which implies that consideration should be given to the distinctiveness of the city as regards the allocation of power to the central and regional levels respectively. However, this idea in itself cannot justify the case for city autonomy, as the claim that the attribution of autonomous powers to cities may improve the quality of decision-making in the state as a whole needs additional empirical evidence. Second, it investigates the concept of city autonomy by exploring the fuzziness of the notion of the city. In addition, it introduces the concept of 'spatial identities' in order to explain the interdependence of (large) cities and their surrounding (rural) areas. Lastly, it concludes that if the importance of cities as constitutional actors is to be increased, it should be done so in an informal way rather than by the introduction of formal constitutional arrangements both from a pragmatic and a normative perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the developed world, the demand for healthcare is rising faster than supply, so that governments are faced with the need to allocate limited resources for maximum benefit. Many governments are responding to these pressures by developing health technology assessment agencies, which evaluate the cost effectiveness of new pharmaceutical and medical products relative to existing interventions. In England and Wales, the agency concerned with health technology assessment is the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE brings together evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness to judge the value of the treatment relative to alternative uses of National Health Service (NHS) resources and makes recommendations on use of the treatment by the NHS in England and Wales. NICE evaluates technologies where they may result in significant impact on NHS resources or key healthcare policy. The health technology assessment includes a review of the clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and service impact of the technology under consideration. This health technology assessment report, together with submissions from the technology manufacturer, and patient and healthcare professionals groups, is then considered by an appraisal committee that formulates guidance to the NHS and is ultimately published by NICE.A number of countries have formal guidelines on the use of outcome measures and economic evaluations in the submissions required for health technology assessment prior to market access. These guidelines vary in both the detail and level of mandatory requirement to be followed by technology manufacturers. NICE has recently updated its guidance to technology manufacturers on their submissions. These guidelines, developed in consultation with the healthcare industry, provide detailed specification of the requirements of NICE for health outcomes data and economic evaluation. These details are described in more detail in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests whether visual nudges help direct attention towards existing instructions designed to increase waste sorting accuracy. The study was conducted in a quasi-experimental setting over a period of 9 weeks in two buildings of a large UK university campus. Two treatments on recycling behaviour were tested against a control group: one considered the impact of visual nudges in the form of human eyes; the other one combined human eye with pre-existing sorting instructions. Results show that for mixed recycling the combination of visual and information nudges decreased sorting errors by 7 percentage points. In contrast, visual nudges alone increased sorting errors by 4.5 percentage points. These findings indicate that, when combined, information and a visual nudge are cost-effective tools to significantly improve waste sorting behaviour. This paper adds to existing experimental evidence based on neuroscientific theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2020, the UK was placed in lockdown following the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Just as legitimate workplaces made changes to enable their employees to work from home, the illicit drugs trade also made alternative arrangements, adapting its supply models to ensure continuity of operations. Based upon qualitative interviews with 46 practitioners, this paper assesses how front-line professionals have experienced and perceived the impact of Covid-19 on child criminal exploitation and County Lines drug supply in the UK. Throughout the paper, we highlight perceived adaptations to the County Lines supply model, the impact of lockdown restrictions on detection and law enforcement activities aimed at County Lines, and on efforts to safeguard children and young people from criminal exploitation. Our participants generally believed that the pandemic had induced shifts to County Lines that reflected an ongoing evolution of the drug supply model and changes in understanding or attention because of Covid-19 restrictions, rather than a complete reconstitution of the model itself. Practitioners perceived that Covid-19 has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on some young people's vulnerability to exploitation, on the way in which police and frontline practitioners respond to County Lines and child criminal exploitation, and on the way illegal drugs are being moved and sold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chest low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is a promising technology for population-based screening because it is non-invasive, relatively inexpensive, associated with low radiation and highly sensitive to lung cancer. To improve the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening, simultaneous screening for other diseases could be considered. This systematic review was conducted to analyse studies that published evidence on the cost-effectiveness of chest LDCT screening programs for different diseases. Methods: Scopus and PubMed were searched for English publications (1 January 2011–22 July 2022) using search terms related to screening, computed tomography and cost-effectiveness. An additional search specifically searched for the cost-effectiveness of screening for lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cardiovascular disease. Included publications should present a full health economic evaluation of population screening with chest LDCT. The extracted data included the disease screened for, model type, country context of screening, inclusion of comorbidities or incidental findings, incremental costs, incremental effects and the resulting cost-effectiveness ratio amongst others. Reporting quality was assessed using the 2022 Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist. Results: The search yielded 1799 unique papers, of which 43 were included. Most papers focused on lung cancer screening (n = 40), and three were on coronary calcium scoring. Microsimulation was the most commonly applied modelling type (n = 16), followed by life table analysis (n = 10) and Markov cohort models (n = 10). Studies reflected the healthcare context of the US (n = 15), Canada (n = 4), the UK (n = 3) and 13 other countries. The reported incremental cost-effectiveness ratio ranged from US$10,000 to US$90,000/quality-adjusted life year (QALY) for lung cancer screening compared to no screening and was US$15,900/QALY–US$45,300/QALY for coronary calcium scoring compared to no screening. Discussion: Almost all health economic evaluations of LDCT screening focused on lung cancer. Literature regarding the health economic benefits of simultaneous LDCT screening for multiple diseases is absent. Most studies suggest LDCT screening is cost-effective for current and former smokers aged 55–74 with a minimum of 30 pack-years of smoking history. Consequently, more evidence on LDCT is needed to support further cost-effectiveness analyses. Preferably evidence on simultaneous screening for multiple diseases is needed, but alternatively, on single-disease screening. Registration of systematic review: Prospective Register of Ongoing Systematic Reviews registration CRD42021290228 can be accessed https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=290228. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is an inevitable trend of the development of world first-class universities to promote the construction of a powerful country in higher education and to build and own a number of world first-class universities around the world. Under the actual background of the construction of "world first-class university," this paper studies the comprehensive evaluation of university competitiveness. Firstly, considering the selection condition and development tasks of "world first-class university," 13 indexes are selected to construct a comprehensive evaluation index system of university competitiveness from six aspects of talent training, scientific research, teacher construction, social service, social reputation and internationalization degree, and the method of principal component analysis (PCA) is used to determine the weights of these 13 indexes. Secondly, a new Deviation Degree-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (DD-TOPSIS) method is proposed to comprehensively evaluate the university competitiveness. Thirdly, 15 universities in Hubei Province of China and 10 top universities in UK are selected for empirical analysis, respectively. Finally, according to the results of empirical analysis, some suggestions on the construction of "world first-class university" are provided from the aspects of teacher construction, talent training, social service and university management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bullying increases risk of social anxiety and can produce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to cognitive models, these are maintained by unhelpful beliefs, which are therefore assessed and targeted in cognitive therapy. This paper describes psychometric validation of a new measure of beliefs related to bullying experiences. Methods: In an online survey of 1879 young people before starting university or college in the UK, 1279 reported a history of bullying (N = 1279), and 854 rated their agreement with beliefs about self and others related to bullying experiences and completed symptom measures of social anxiety and PTSD related to bullying. An empirical structure for a Bullied Cognitions Inventory was established using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and assessed using model fit statistics and tests of reliability and validity. Results: Fifteen items clustered into four themes: "degraded in the eyes of others", "negative interpretations of reactions to bullying", "recognisable as a bullying victim" and "social defeat". The measure has acceptable reliability and validity and, accounting for existing cognitive measures, explained additional variance in symptoms of PTSD but not social anxiety. Conclusions: The Bullied Cognitions Inventory (BCI) is a valid and reliable tool for measuring cognitions related to bullying. It may be useful in therapy for identifying and monitoring unhelpful cognitions in those who were bullied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do voters update their attitudes toward economic issues in line with their material self-interest? The consensus among students of public opinion is that material self-interest plays a very limited role and that competing non-material factors, such as partisanship or ideological predispositions, do most of the heavy lifting. This paper moves beyond comparing the role of material and non-material factors. Instead, we examine how these factors combine to shape policy preferences. Specifically, we propose a friendly amendment to Zaller's influential model according to which attitudinal change results from the interaction between changes in elite messaging on the one hand and individual political predispositions on the other. In Zaller's model, partisanship and ideological predispositions help explain why some resist and others embrace new elite messaging. We hypothesize that material self-interest also conditions the effect of elite messaging. Using British individual-level panel data collected over more than a decade, we show that material hardship predicts who, among left-wing voters, resist new right-wing partisan cues. Our results highlights the incremental impact of material self-interest on economic attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Building partnerships between mental health services and Black faith communities to co-produce culturally tailored interventions is an essential step towards improving access to services and reducing stigma among the Black population. Given that Black faith organisations are considered a primary source of emotional and psychological support they are well positioned as 'gatekeepers' for services, to overcome barriers to engagement and build trusting relationships with the Black community. The aim of this paper is to pilot a manualised mental health awareness and stigma reduction intervention for Black faith communities in the UK, and to make an initial assessment of feasibility, acceptability and outcomes. Methods: This study employed a mixed methods pre–post-design, based upon the Medical Research Council Framework (MRC) for complex interventions, and the Implementation Science Research Development. Results: The qualitative assessments indicate that the intervention was found overall to be acceptable and feasible to the Black faith community population. This pilot study did not find statistically significant changes for the Mental Health Knowledge schedule (MAKS), Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS), intended help-seeking or willingness to disclose (Attitudes to Mental Illness Survey) measures. However, the direction of all the non-significant changes in these measures suggests positive changes in mental health knowledge, a reduction in participants' desire for social distance, and greater willingness to disclose personal experiences of mental health problems. A statistically significant improvement in the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness (CAMI) scale results indicated a lower level of stigmatising attitudes towards people with lived experience of mental health conditions (PWLE), and an increase in tolerance and support towards PWLE after the intervention. Significant improvement in the willingness to disclose measure suggests increased preparedness to seek help amongst participants, a lesser desire for social distance, and greater willingness to engage with PWLE after the intervention. Three key themes, including 9 subthemes were identified from the qualitative data analysis: (i) initial implementation and intention to adopt; (ii) perceived suitability and usefulness of intervention to address cultural issues relating to mental health in the Black community; and (iii) strengthening the capacity of faith leaders. Conclusions: This ON TRAC pilot study shows that the intervention was feasible and acceptable, and that it has promising positive impacts and next requires larger scale evaluation. These results demonstrate that the intervention was a culturally acceptable way to potentially increase mental health awareness and reduce stigma in Black faith communities. Trial registration: ISRCTN12253092. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective public health surveillance requires consistent monitoring of disease signals such that researchers and decision-makers can react dynamically to changes in disease occurrence. However, whilst surveillance initiatives exist in production animal veterinary medicine, comparable frameworks for companion animals are lacking. First-opinion veterinary electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to reveal disease signals and often represent the initial reporting of clinical syndromes in animals presenting for medical attention, highlighting their possible significance in early disease detection. Yet despite their availability, there are limitations surrounding their free text-based nature, inhibiting the ability for national-level mortality and morbidity statistics to occur. This paper presents PetBERT, a large language model trained on over 500 million words from 5.1 million EHRs across the UK. PetBERT-ICD is the additional training of PetBERT as a multi-label classifier for the automated coding of veterinary clinical EHRs with the International Classification of Disease 11 framework, achieving F1 scores exceeding 83% across 20 disease codings with minimal annotations. PetBERT-ICD effectively identifies disease outbreaks, outperforming current clinician-assigned point-of-care labelling strategies up to 3 weeks earlier. The potential for PetBERT-ICD to enhance disease surveillance in veterinary medicine represents a promising avenue for advancing animal health and improving public health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Mental health problems are a leading and increasing cause of health-related burden in children across the world. Peer support interventions are increasingly used to meet this need using the lived experience of people with a history of mental health problems. However, much of the research underpinning this work has focused on adults, leaving a gap in knowledge about how these complex interventions may work for different children in different circumstances. Realist research may help us to understand how such complex interventions may trigger different mechanisms to produce different outcomes in children. This paper reports on an important first step in realist research, namely the construction of an embryonic initial programme theory to help 'focus' realist evaluation exploring how children's peer support services work in different contexts to produce different outcomes in the West Midlands (UK). Methods: A survey and preliminary semi-structured realist interviews were conducted with 10 people involved in the delivery of peer support services. Realist analysis was carried out to produce context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOC). Results: Analysis produced an initial programme theory of peer support for children's mental health. This included 12 CMOCs. Important outcomes identified by peer support staff included hope, service engagement, wellbeing, resilience, and confidence; each generated by different mechanisms including contextualisation of psychoeducation, navigating barriers to accessing services, validation, skill development, therapeutic relationship, empowerment, and reducing stigma. Conclusion: These data lay the groundwork for designing youth mental health realist research to evaluate with nuance the complexities of what components of peer support work for whom in varying circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cornerstone of well-being research is that the resource-rich are happier with their lives than the resource-poor and better positioned to cope with stressful life events. This paper addresses the role of various resources—human, economic, social, and psychological capital—in life satisfaction during the coronavirus pandemic, using panel data from Germany and the United Kingdom for 2020 and 2021. Cross-sectionally, we find life satisfaction to be clearly related to all these forms of capital, with psychological capital being the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. Longitudinally, the capital endowments in 2020 did not predict changes in life satisfaction within individuals from 2020 to 2021, except for psychological capital. Our results suggest two things: first, the unfolding pandemic did not heighten well-being inequalities; and second, weathering the pandemic required psychological resources in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To determine the impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) on patient attendance at dental practices and maintenance of oral health.Design A cross-sectional postal questionnaire-based study.Setting Leicestershire, United Kingdom.Subjects and methods People with MS in Leicestershire identified from local health authority records (n = 476).Main outcome measures Number registered at dental practice, frequency of attendance, issues and perspectives relating to attendance and maintenance of oral health.Results A response rate of 61% (n = 289) was obtained. When compared to the general population, a higher number of people with MS were registered with a dentist (49%:88%) and displayed more frequent practice attendance (71%:81%) in the past year. People with MS reported difficulties in attending a dentist and maintaining oral health, which were exacerbated by deterioration in general health. Problems relating to reduced personal mobility had the greatest impact on attendance.Conclusions MS has a negative impact on perceived patient attendance and maintenance of oral health. Patients with a progressive disability could benefit greatly from the provision of preventive oral health care. The importance of seeking care earlier rather than later needs to be emphasised to both professionals and patients alike. Further efforts are required to increase awareness of the importance of oral health to the quality of life of people with MS and ensure that individuals with physical disabilities receive the same access to dental services as the able-bodied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Price dynamics in stock market is modelled by a statistical physics systems: Ising model. A comparative analysis of the historical dynamics of stock returns between the US, UK, and French markets is given. Since the Ising model requires binary inputs, the effect of binarization is studied. Then, using the TAP approximation method, external fields and coupling strengths are calculated. The fluctuation cycles of coupling strengths have a remarkable corresponding relationship with the important period of the financial market. The highlight of this paper is to verify the phase transition can also occur in the stock market and it reveals the transformation of the market state. The numerical solution in this paper is consistent with the exact solution obtained by Lars Onsager. Our findings can help to discover the economic cycles and provide more possibilities for studying financial markets using physical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has confined millions in their homes, an unprecedented opportunity to spend more time together with family members. This paper explores subjective well-being in the uses of time for US and UK workers, differentiating between solo activities and activities done with family members, at home and outside the home. Using American and British time use surveys, we compute the instant utility associated with paid work, unpaid work, leisure, and childcare activities. OLS regressions on both men and women show that workers prefer joint leisure to solo leisure, and that significant differences exist for solo and joint market work and housework, between the sexes. Despite that, the effect magnitudes are relatively low. Furthermore, we simulate a strict lockdown situation by replacing where and with whom worker episodes would be, based on mid-2020 strict confinements. Results suggest diverging effects, since more time with the spouse/partner and children, and less time with others, seems to increase the experienced wellbeing of women, compared to that of men. The simulation exercise also reveals asymmetric effects in the US and in the UK. The conclusions of this paper may help in assessing the psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns, beyond the negative economic and labour market consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elite donors are a crucial and sought-after source of funding for many nonprofit organisations, but there is a dearth of substantive empirical studies presenting primary data on such donors' motivations, experiences and perspectives. There are challenges for social scientists in conducting interviews with elites, notably: gaining access to elite donors; developing sufficient rapport to discuss a topic that involves money and morals; and making sense of data without being dazzled by striking surface differences between elites and non-elites. These barriers have resulted in a long-standing over-reliance on secondary sources and on interviews with proxies such as foundation staff and wealth advisers. This paper reviews the small body of work that presents findings from interviews with elite donors and draws on my experience of conducting interviews with 46 wealthy UK donors, in order to critically analyse the implementation of this research design. This paper adds to the literature by extending understanding of elite donors' reasons for agreeing to be interviewed and contributes to advancing third sector research by highlighting strategies to overcome challenges in conducting elite interviews in order to gain a less mediated understanding of the contexts, cultures and subjectivities of their focus of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory Mapping encompasses a broad spectrum of methods, each with advantages and limitations that can influence the degree to which the target audience is able to participate and the veracity of the data collected. Whilst being an efficient means to gather spatial data, the accessibility of online methods is limited by digital divides. Conversely, whilst non-digital approaches are more accessible to participants, data collected in this way are typically more challenging to analyse and often necessitate researcher interpretation, limiting their use in decision-making. We therefore present 'Paper2GIS', a novel sketch mapping tool that automatically extracts mark-up drawn onto paper maps and stores it in a geospatial database. The approach embodied in our tool simultaneously limits the technical burden placed on the participant and generates data comparable to that of a digital system without the subjectivity of manual digitisation. This improves accessibility, whilst simultaneously facilitating spatial analyses that are usually not possible with paper-based mapping exercises. A case study is presented to address two energy planning questions of the residents in the Outer Hebrides, UK. The results demonstrate that accessibility can be improved without impacting the potential for spatial analysis, widening participation to further democratise decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coroners, who hold inquests to determine the causes of unnatural deaths in England and Wales, having recognised factors that could cause other deaths, are legally obliged to signal concerns by sending 'Reports to Prevent Future Deaths' (PFDs) to interested persons. We aimed to establish whether Coroners' concerns about medications are widely recognised. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science up to 30 November, 2022 for publications linking PFDs and medications using a combination of search terms "coroner*", "inquest*", "medicine*", "medication*" and "prevent*". We also searched the BMJ, a UK journal that carries news items; and the databases Nexis Advance and News On the Web for reports in national newspapers between 2013 and 2022, using the search terms ("regulation 28" OR "prevent future deaths" OR "prevention of future deaths") AND "coroner". We recorded the number of publications, as well as their citations in Google Scholar at 23 May, 2023. Results: Only 11 published papers on medicines referenced UK PFDs, nine of which were from our group. The BMJ carried 23 articles mentioning PFDs, five related to medicines. Of 139 PFDs (out of over 4000) mentioned in national newspapers, only nine related to medicines. Conclusions: The PFDs related to medicines are not widely referred to in medical journals or UK national newspapers. By contrast, the Australian and New Zealand National Coronial Information System has contributed cases to 206 publications cited in PubMed, of which 139 are related to medicines. Our search suggests that information from English and Welsh Coroners' PFDs is under-recognised, even though it should inform public health. The results of inquiries by Coroners and medical examiners worldwide into potentially preventable deaths involving medicines should be used to strengthen the safety of medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The illicit market in veterinary medicines is an overlooked issue despite threatening the health of non-human and human animals. It is thought to be increasing within the major markets of the global North due to the growth of e-commerce and social media sites. This paper examines the online market in illicit veterinary medicines through an exploratory study of the public's online experiences as pet owners in the UK. To this end, we collected data through literature-based research and an online survey. Drawing on Passas' criminogenic asymmetries framework, the research found that the confluence of legal, political, cultural, economic and knowledge asymmetries likely facilitate the market in illicit veterinary medicines in the UK. Our research concludes that, while previous reports suggest the illicit market is dominated by medicines to treat pets, it increasingly consists of medicines for farmed animals. This brings its own set of challenges and risks, and a pressing need for further research on the market's dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines implementation fidelity (IF) and the underpinning conceptual framework drawing on the evaluation of a UK-wide, manualized child abuse and neglect prevention program for elementary schools. We describe and assess our approach to assessing IF and consider how IF can inform program development. Method: We drew on the literature on program fidelity and critical components of the program evaluated to identify three dimensions of IF: Coverage, Quality and Context. Data was collected through external observations using systemized observation schedules which were extracted to be scored using scoring protocols for each intervention type. Scores were calculated by two researchers with a random sample cross-checked by a third member of the research team. Results: Observation analysis demonstrated consistency in the coverage of content when delivering assemblies for both younger and older children with at least 76% coverage of content across the assemblies. However, observation analysis revealed greater levels of variability in the delivery of workshops. Material on sexual abuse was less fully covered and children reported that some facilitators lacked confidence and clarity in delivering this material (Stanley et al., 2023). Conclusion: Our results indicate the usefulness of systemized observations in capturing coverage of content, these findings underscore the importance of developing scoring protocols and training observers prior to evaluating program delivery. We highlight the significance of integrating implementation fidelity training for program facilitators and implementers to both assist with monitoring and to maintain quality, despite variations in the actual delivery and setting of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Action research is the predominant approach for organisational inquiry, but it comes in many guises and in some cases ends up as all action and no research. A common feature of all action research is the necessity to meet stakeholders in person in order to gain an understanding 'from within', this is particularly the case where 'soft' action research is the basis of the inquiry. In this paper first, we reflect, briefly, upon the history of action research and second, upon the lessons leant from the outcomes from two projects. The first project was conducted 'virtually', between a college in the USA and one in the UK and the second undertaken during the disruption caused by the restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The experiences gained from these two 'virtual' action research projects and the lessons learnt are of interest to both the 'traditional' and 'soft' action research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we characterize the performance of linear models trained via widely-used sparse machine learning algorithms. We build polygenic scores and examine performance as a function of training set size, genetic ancestral background, and training method. We show that predictor performance is most strongly dependent on size of training data, with smaller gains from algorithmic improvements. We find that LASSO generally performs as well as the best methods, judged by a variety of metrics. We also investigate performance characteristics of predictors trained on one genetic ancestry group when applied to another. Using LASSO, we develop a novel method for projecting AUC and correlation as a function of data size (i.e., for new biobanks) and characterize the asymptotic limit of performance. Additionally, for LASSO (compressed sensing) we show that performance metrics and predictor sparsity are in agreement with theoretical predictions from the Donoho-Tanner phase transition. Specifically, a future predictor trained in the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative for asthma can achieve an AUC of 0. 63 (0.02) and for height a correlation of 0. 648 (0.009) for a Taiwanese population. This is above the measured values of 0. 61 (0.01) and 0. 631 (0.008) , respectively, for UK Biobank trained predictors applied to a European population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerial image data are becoming more widely available, and analysis techniques based on supervised learning are advancing their use in a wide variety of remote sensing contexts. However, supervised learning requires training datasets which are not always available or easy to construct with aerial imagery. In this respect, unsupervised machine learning techniques present important advantages. This work presents a novel pipeline to demonstrate how available aerial imagery can be used to better the provision of services related to the built environment, using the case study of road traffic collisions (RTCs) across three cities in the UK. In this paper, we show how aerial imagery can be leveraged to extract latent features of the built environment from the purely visual representation of top-down images. With these latent image features in hand to represent the urban structure, this work then demonstrates how hazardous road segments can be clustered to provide a data-augmented aid for road safety experts to enhance their nuanced understanding of how and where different types of RTCs occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human mobility is poorly captured by existing methods which employ simple measures to quantify human mobility patterns. This paper develops spatial graph-based methods to quantify patterns of human mobility—termed activity graphs. Activity graphs are constructed with anchors representing activity locations and edges connecting anchors representing movement between anchors. We first perform a factor analysis to identify four primary dimensions of mobility that can be derived from activity graphs: quantity, extent, connectedness, and clustering. A case study with GPS tracking data from a sample of UK-based workers is then used to demonstrate how activity graphs can be applied in practice and how new dimensions of mobility captured by activity graphs may lead to new insights about mobility behaviour. We provide several promising new areas for future work where activity graphs can be further extended to address increasingly sophisticated spatial questions around individual mobility. Our analysis fits within the time-geographic framework presented by Hägerstrand, and our results highlight opportunities for continued research motivated by issues emphasized by Hägerstrand in his seminal work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With many of the world's governments committing to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by mid-century, with well-defined milestones along the road, it is important to investigate how each sector can contribute towards achieving this global goal. The manufacturing sector, with its energy-intensive processes, large amounts of wastes, and hazardous and harmful emissions, is one of the main contributors to global GHG emissions, as well as other sustainability aspects, and, thus, it has great potential to contribute substantially to achieve net-zero objectives. This paper presents a techno-environmental-economic analysis of technologies that can play a key, enabling and leading role in the quest towards net-zero. Such technologies typically bring modest improvement in the environmental performance; however, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate how such small changes, when implemented in an industrial setting, can contribute significantly to the collective improvement in the environmental performance. In order to put the potential improvements into perspective, a real case study from the UK aerospace manufacturing sector is conducted. In the case study, metrics measuring potential improvements from the installation of a low-to-medium waste heat recovery system, and the upgrade of electric motors in the shopfloor to more energy efficient ones, are calculated through environmental and economic models. The models are then subject to a series of sensitivity analyses experiments to help understand the impact of different sources of uncertainty on the perceived GHG emissions, and economic and energy savings. The techno-environmental-economic analysis results revealed that these small changes, when implemented in an industrial setting, can indeed bring valuable improvements in the environmental performance of a manufacturing institute. Further, the sensitivity analysis experiments demonstrated how the environmental and economic performances are not adversely affected by different levels of fluctuations in key, likely to fluctuate, input parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adhesion contracts have a strong likelihood of being unconscionable. The laws and principles are further complicated by the introduction of electronic contracts, specifically electronic consumer contracts. The paper touches upon the duty to read doctrine in contracts and electronic contracts. While the doctrine of unconscionability has evolved it has been playing catch up with the demands of consumers. This paper compares the application of this doctrine in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and India. The paper also proposes recommendations for consumers and the development of laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the needs of UK infrastructure investment become clearer, the problem of funding these investments remain open to debate. To aid this, the development of nuclear power station's is considered. The objective of the paper is to develop a governance lens that supports an assessment of both historic practice and current proposals to support discussion on infrastructure investment options. To meet this aim, general funding of infrastructure together with three governance paradigms are examined. The implications for infrastructure investment are highlighted and alternative paradigms analysed. These are subsequently discussed and conclusions drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Income redistribution is determined, to some extent, by how fair citizens judge the income distribution in their societies to be. Nonetheless, there seems to be a contradiction between what people declare as a fair income distribution, and the increase in inequalities across countries. An unexplored methodological reason for that is that survey instruments do not perfectly capture individual's perception of income fairness, biasing results. Therefore, in this paper we use data from a Multitrait-Multimethod experiment conducted in wave 6 of the probability-based CROss-National Online Survey (CRONOS) panel in Great Britain, Estonia and Slovenia. Specifically, we explore the effect of three different scales on how fair people report an income to be, and the subsequent measurement quality of these answers. Overall, we find that survey scales do have an impact on what people report as a fair income, and the quality of these answers. Specifically, we find that the use of branching scales increases participants' likelihood of considering an income distribution as "Fair", while using partial-labelling and visual clues to separate (fair/unfair) dimensions increases the likelihood of considering these as "extremely unfair high/low." In addition, our results suggest that using a 9-point fully labelled unfolding scale without visual clues yields the best measurement quality across all countries, being preferred over the other tested methods (9-point partially labelled unfolding scale with visual clues; 9-point fully labelled branching scale without visual clues). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic shocks create insolvency law-making space, generating opportunities for legal reform that may be absent in good times. Policymakers may suddenly acquire a mandate to resource institutions or drive through a change in the law where in good times such reforms were likely to be foiled by interest group capture, or simply unlikely to get sufficient political traction. A crisis, then, is an opportunity for the well-prepared insolvency policymaker. Insolvency rule-making in crisis conditions is, however, plainly also risky. Making best use of the opportunity implies making more than temporary changes to the regime. But design choices made mid-crisis will almost inevitably be influenced by the features of the crisis itself, generating a risk that the result of the reform effort will be distorted law, ill-suited to the achievement of the lawmaker's objectives in the long run. This paper considers the permanent restructuring law reforms enacted in the UK during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. At first glance, these reforms appear to exemplify the case of the well-prepared policymaker, poised to drive through carefully planned changes to the law when the opportunity arises. On closer inspection, however, a different picture emerges. The permanent measures, which were enacted in a fast-track legislative process, departed from the Government's pre-pandemic plan in material and undesirable ways. In some cases, these deviations mean that the original objective has not been achieved at all; in others, the objective has been at least partially achieved, but at unnecessary cost. Overall, the UK experience appears to better exemplify the risks of attempting insolvency law reform in a crisis, than the opportunities that a crisis affords to an insolvency policymaker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to our understanding of volunteer management by charting some important challenges associated with the governance of one of the UK's largest timebanking networks. While timebanking is often treated as a form of volunteering, many timebank advocates are keen to distinguish it sharply from traditional volunteering. We suggest that this tension generates a fundamental 'performance paradox' in the management of timebanks in the voluntary sector. We draw on political discourse theory to characterise and evaluate associated challenges, suggesting that, when viewed against a host of context-specific organisational and policy pressures, the progressive potential of timebanking cannot be realised as a distinct community economy without adequate support. Instead of taking up a position alongside more traditional forms of volunteering, timebanking is more likely to be subsumed by them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vehicle emissions testing programme was conducted by the UK Department of Transport in 2016 in response to emissions tampering exposed in the Volkswagen (VW) emissions scandal. The programme identified large emissions discrepancies between real-world and in-lab testing across a range of Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesel passenger vehicles. The large vehicle test fleet reflects the current challenges faced in controlling vehicle emissions. This paper presents the following findings: NOx emissions are altered due to exhaust gas recirculation mismanagement. A new Real-Life Emissions methodology is introduced to improve upon the current Real Driving Emissions standard. A large and concerning emissions divergence was discovered between the achieved NOx improvement and deterioration of CO2. The findings act as catalysts to improve vehicle emissions testing beyond standards established since the VW scandal, aiding in the development of better climate change mitigation strategies and bring tangible air quality improvements to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]