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Currently in the UK and Ireland, after a hip fracture most patients do not receive bone protection medication to reduce the risk of refracture. Yet randomised controlled trial data specifically examining patients with hip fracture have shown that intravenous zoledronate reduces refracture risk by a third. Despite this evidence, use of intravenous zoledronate is highly variable following a hip fracture; many hospitals are providing this treatment, whilst most are currently not. A range of clinical uncertainties, doubts over the evidence base and practical concerns are cited as reasons. This paper discusses these concerns and provides guidance from expert consensus, aiming to assist orthogeriatricians, pharmacists and health services managers establish local protocols to deliver this highly clinically and cost-effective treatment to patients before they leave hospital, in order to reduce costly re-fractures in this frail population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines some drivers behind substantial changes in tax policy in recent decades. Using existing theories and our definition of 'beneficial major tax reforms', we discuss three case studies: the US in the 1980s, the UK in the 1980s, and the UK's failed 'mini-budget' of 2022. Our analysis reveals that the US's TRA86 has, to some degree, improved efficiency, while the UK reforms may have exacerbated inequality with ambiguous effects on efficiency. Finally, we outline the potential for future reforms and conclude that political conditions are more likely to instigate major change than economic motivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity rates in the United Kingdom, and around the world, are high and rising. They are higher, and rising faster, amongst people growing up and living in deprivation. These patterns raise potential concerns about both market failures and equity. There is much that policy can do to address these concerns. However, policy can also do harm if it is poorly targeted or has unintended consequences. In order to design effective policies we need an understanding of who we are trying to target, and for what reasons. This paper provides an overview of some of the evidence, and some recent policy initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an integrating decision support system (IDSS) for food security in the United Kingdom. In ever‐larger dynamic systems, such as the food system, it is increasingly difficult for decision makers (DMs) to effectively account for all the variables within the system that may influence the outcomes of interest under enactments of various candidate policies. Each of the influencing variables is likely, themselves, to be dynamic subsystems with expert domains supported by sophisticated probabilistic models. Recent increases in food poverty in the United Kingdom have raised the questions about the main drivers of food insecurity, how this may be changing over time and how evidence can be used in evaluating policy for decision support. In this context, an IDSS is proposed for household food security to allow DMs to compare several candidate policies which may affect the outcome of food insecurity at the household level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current COVID-19 pandemic confines people to their homes, disrupting the fragile social fabric of deprived neighbourhoods and citizen's participation options. In deprived neighbourhoods, community engagement is central in building community resilience, an important resource for health and a prerequisite for effective health promotion programmes. It provides access to vulnerable groups and helps understand experiences, assets, needs and problems of citizens. Most importantly, community activities, including social support, primary care or improving urban space, enhance health through empowerment, strengthened social networks, mutual respect and providing a sense of purpose and meaning. In the context of inequalities associated with COVID-19, these aspects are crucial for citizens of deprived neighbourhoods who often feel their needs and priorities are ignored. In this perspectives paper, illustrated by a varied overview of community actions in the UK and The Netherlands, we demonstrate how citizens, communities and organizations may build resilience and community power. Based on in-depth discussion among the authors we distilled six features of community actions: increase in mutual aid and neighbourhood ties, the central role of community-based organizations (CBOs), changing patterns of volunteering, use of digital media and health promotion opportunities. We argue that in order to enable and sustain resilient and confident, 'disaster-proof', communities, areas which merit investment include supporting active citizens, new (digital) ways of community engagement, transforming formal organizations, alignment with the (local) context and applying knowledge in the field of health promotion in new ways, focussing on learning and co-creation with citizen initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant yet overlooked aspect in many states' extraterritorial migration control efforts is their immigration liaison officers (ILOs) posted to foreign jurisdictions, who make decisions and take actions abroad to support their country's immigration goals. Importantly, this occurs within an interconnected system of nation-states, requiring mid-level officials from multiple states to co-operate. Yet, there is very little analysis on what happens in these foreign jurisdictions where officials from across national and organisational boundaries interact and negotiate the management of migration flows. This article aims to fill this gap by drawing on empirical research on the UK's overseas immigration liaison network. Analysis is based on original interviews with Home Office officials, Freedom of Information requests, and documentary research. I find that UK ILOs are a main contact point between the country they represent, local authorities in the host state, and Global North counterparts from other states, making them key sites for the transnational exchange of information, 'intelligence' and 'know-how'. In this way, they are like 'knowledge brokers', contributing to a 'global–local diffusion' of ideas. Despite power hierarchies, this is not a one-way transfer from the Global North to the South. Instead, I find Global South actors are also key subjects in this process. By going beyond policies on paper and formal inter-state agreements, this study offers important insight into a largely hidden yet central part of a state's extraterritorial migration control: informal spaces of negotiation between mid-level officials from across national and organisational boundaries who negotiate and contest migration control practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure is central to many aspects of policy, and this focus has survived the impact of Covid-induced expenditure. The paper examines the scope for Brexit to allow infrastructure planning to be more devolved, consider demand-side and nature-based solutions, and become more competitive. It concludes that Brexit offers the opportunity for a more system-based approach to infrastructure planning and delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the possible distributional impacts of new trade barriers associated with the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement governing relations between the UK and EU after Brexit. We use a model of labour demand that incorporates input–output links across industries, and that allows for demand substitution by firms and consumers and worker reallocation across industries. We find that workers' exposure is moderately increasing across the earnings distribution. Exposure is greater for men than for women as they are more likely to work in manufacturing industries that are relatively harder hit by new trade barriers. Looking across areas, we find that exposure to new Brexit trade barriers is uncorrelated with measures of local deprivation and the impacts of the recent Covid-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key questions facing immigration policy-makers is which jobs should be eligible for work visas. This question has dominated discussions about the post-Brexit immigration system, which has focused in particular on the issue of shortages. While the UK government resisted calls to open labour migration routes in low-wage or low-skilled jobs with high demand for foreign workers, workers in middle- and high-skilled jobs that are deemed to face a labour market shortage can qualify with significantly lower wages. This paper examines the arguments for and against using immigration policy to prioritize labour migration in 'shortage occupations'. It argues that the idea is politically appealing but problematic in practice. Shortages are more difficult to measure satisfactorily than policy-makers may imagine, and different methodologies produce different results. This makes it unwise to develop an immigration policy that depends too heavily on the notion that the shortage list is an accurate reflection of what is really happening in the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents several abstracts related to dermatology presented during the annual meeting of British Association of Dermatologists in Great Britain. 'Preliminary Report on the Skin of Ancient European Mummies From the Silk Road in China,' by K. Liddell and L.J. Liddell; 'Hippocrates of Cos— The First Dermatologist 9460–370 BC),' by L. Liddell.

The article focuses on the book "Essay on Capital and Interest: An Austrian Perspective," by Israel M. Kirzner. The book contains an introduction which places the previously published papers in the context of more widely known 20th century developments in the area of capital and interest. It is contended that whilst traditional neoclassical theory is effectively hit by the Cambridge, Great Britain capital criticism, the subjectivist Austrian approach is not. It is maintained that the latter is consistent and represents an alternative to both the classical approachand the mainstream neoclassical approach.

This paper examines the turn toward the small companion animal that occurred in British veterinary medicine in the twentieth century. The change in species emphasis is usually attributed to post-war socioeconomic factors, however this explanation ignores the extensive small animal treatment that was occurring outwith the veterinary profession in the interwar period. The success of this unqualified practice caused the veterinary profession to rethink attitudes to small animals (dogs initially, later cats) upon the decline of horse practice. This paper argues that a shift toward seeing the small animal as a legitimate veterinary patient was necessary before the specialty could become mainstream in the post-war years, and that this occurred between the wars as a result of the activities of British animal welfare charities, especially the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals of the Poor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is well established that international migration involves not only geographical but also social mobility, as migrants achieve an improved socioeconomic position through increased economic opportunities, or experience downwards mobility as a result of not being able to transfer their economic, social or educational resources to the receiving country context. While the social mobility that accompanies migration is often considered in the migration literature, the implications for migrants' social class positioning has been less of a focus. This paper addresses this gap by looking at how female migrants in the UK evaluate social class trajectories as part of their biographical narratives. The paper brings wider sociological debates about class into a discussion about female migrants' socioeconomic trajectories and social status. By considering material as well as symbolic aspects of class divisions along with the transnational context in which migrants are embedded, the paper highlights the complexity of how migrants are positioned in class terms. It also looks at how class is subjectively interpreted, and outlines different ways in which migrants evaluate their class trajectories, for instance by conceiving of migration from a long-term perspective and in the context of the family unit, by emphasising different quality-of-life aspects, and by challenging dominant meanings associated with class hierarchies. The paper emphasises the intersection of class and gender in female migrants' experiences, and argues that exploring subjective accounts of class provide useful insights into the complexity of how class is experienced in the context of international migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes as its starting point Kant's analysis of freedom in the Critique of Pure Reason. From this analysis, two different types of freedom are discerned, formative and instrumental freedom. The paper suggests that much of what passes for the pedagogy of learning in UK universities takes the form of an instrumental freedom. This, however, involves the neglect of formative freedom--the power to put learning to question. An emancipatory concept of education requires that formative freedom lies at the heart of the educative endeavour, to which learning must be seen as secondary. The proposal of the two types of freedom is based on a relatively detailed consideration of Kant's Critique--this is necessary in order to ensure that the concepts of instrumental and formative freedom have a credible philosophical basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'war on terror' signalled a new type of warfare--one that accorded with the features of what Surkov argues is non-linear war (Pomerantsev, 2014). Traditional war that takes place in a particular geographical location, with an identifiable enemy, is no more. Instead, warfare is a more fluid phenomenon. The paper argues that Surkov's concept can be usefully applied to current developments in social work practice in the UK. We trace the origins of key anti-terrorist policy developments in the UK (PREVENT and CHANNEL) from the war on terror and argue that such policies have serious implications for social work. We argue that there is an increasing securitisation approach in addressing modern social problems. We describe these as reflecting conflationary rhetorical logic, notably the linking of Troubled Families programmes with 'terror'. The paper concludes that social workers need to first recognise tactics at play in the state of non-linear war, second become critically aware of conflationary rhetorical turns in political discourse, third actively resist securitised discourses and lastly reject discriminatory notions of so-called dangerous people and communities. In other words, we should actively reengage with and promote social work values and social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the threats that Brexit poses for the higher education sector. These threats are: loss of research funding from EU sources; loss of students from other EU countries; the impact on the ability of the sector to hire academic staff from EU countries; and the impact on the ability of UK students to study abroad. The paper suggests ways in which these threats could be mitigated, but argues that this mitigation may be limited in the absence of an agreement on freedom of movement in the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Within the European Union (EU), substantial efforts are being made to achieve economic and social cohesion, and the reduction of health inequalities between EU regions is integral to this process. This paper is the first to examine how self-reported conditions and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) vary spatially between and within countries. Methods: Using 2014 European Social Survey (ESS) data from 20 countries, this paper examines how regional inequalities in self-reported conditions and NCDs vary for men and women in 174 regions (levels 1 and 2 Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units, 'NUTS'). We document absolute and relative inequalities across Europe in the prevalence of eight conditions: general health, overweight/obesity, mental health, heart or circulation problems, high blood pressure, back, neck, muscular or joint pain, diabetes and cancer. Results: There is considerable inequality in self-reported conditions and NCDs between the regions of Europe, with rates highest in the regions of continental Europe, some Scandinavian regions and parts of the UK and lowest around regions bordering the Alps, in Ireland and France. However, for mental health and cancer, rates are highest in regions of Eastern European and lowest in some Nordic regions, Ireland and isolated regions in continental Europe. There are also widespread and consistent absolute and relative regional inequalities in all conditions within countries. These are largest in France, Germany and the UK, and smallest in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. There were higher inequalities amongst women. Conclusion: Using newly available harmonized morbidity data from across Europe, this paper shows that there are considerable regional inequalities within and between European countries in the distribution of self-reported conditions and NCDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses data on unemployment flows and job vacancies to shed light on the phenomenal rise of unemployment in Britain, from under 3% in the 1960s to over 15% (male) unemployment in the 1980s. It finds that most of the rise is due to a fall in the demand for labour. A more expansionary fiscal policy and improved international competitiveness would have ameliorated this fall. Some of the fall, however, can also be attributed to supply pressure, which stopped wages from falling fast enough. Social security and a more relaxed attitude by the state in the provision of unemployment and supplementary benefits also contributed to the rise in unemployment, by making workers more choosey. The paper investigates whether it is possible for any given set of underlying factors to give rise to more than one equilibrium unemployment rate. If so, a temporary stimulus might release the economy from a low-level equilibrium. However the conditions necessary for this do not appear to hold in practice. Thus fiscal and monetary policy can permanently affect unemployment only if they can permanently alter aggregate demand. Microeconomic policy, like marginal employment subsidies, can, however, have a permanent effect on unemployment and the paper investigates whether there are any grounds for wishing to use such policy tools to alter the free-market equilibrium unemployment rate. There is evidence that the allocation of workers to jobs is done more efficiently at a fairly high level of overall labour demand. It follows that, unless job vacancies exceed unemployment, job creating policy measures will be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the mid-18th century politics in Great Britain as reflected in the `London Evening Post,' newspaper. Importance of the periodical to the political press; Insights on the complexities of mid-century opposition politics; Prominent political figures of the period; Political issues reported in the newspaper; Changes in the political content of the newspaper; Political leaning of the newspaper.

The author assesses the British Home Office's White Paper "Broadcasting in the '90s: Competition, Choice and Quality." He argues that the document signals both the continuing conflicts within the government over broadcasting policy and the difficulties of implementing agreed principles in new conditions. He cites one salutory lesson that can be drawn from British media coverage of the White Paper. He explores the influence of the Peacock Committee on the drafting of the document.

Editorial. Focuses on the commitment of the British Journal of Social Work in Great Britain. Implication of acceptance rate of papers submitted to the journal; Quantity of papers to be accepted by the management in order to stand still in the market; Plans to accept materials from foreign researchers; Expectations in publishing materials about children.

In recent years, there has been a risen interest in heat recovery systems for building applications due to concerns about the energy crisis and global climate change. In this paper, the intention to understand the performance of a window thermoelectric heat pump/heat recovery system (Ecopump) for heating has been developed. An overview to the prototype design, heat transfer model, experimental parameters and environmental feasibility is discussed. The variation of MATLAB modelling results followed the same regularity as the experimental results. The MATLAB model along with Revit has been used to simulate the Ecopump's performance when installed in a sustainable house in the UK. From the calculation, Ecopump can provide 670 kWh heating energy and reduce 90.6 kg CO2 emissions per year. The proposed Ecopump system combined with window frame could be a promising technology to enhance space heating for domestic buildings while reducing energy consumption during daily ventilation. Further in situ experiments should be conducted to explore its comprehensive performance in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background vaccination uptake in the UK and increased care home testing are likely affecting care home visitation. With scant scientific evidence to date, the aim of this longitudinal qualitative study was to explore the impact of both (vaccination and testing) on the conduct and experiences of care home visits. Methods family carers of care home residents with dementia and care home staff from across the UK took part in baseline (October/November 2020) and follow-up interviews (March 2021). Public advisers were involved in all elements of the research. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results across 62 baseline and follow-up interviews with family carers (n  = 26; 11) and care home staff (n  = 16; 9), five core themes were developed: delayed and inconsistent offers of face-to-face visits; procedures and facilitation of visits; variable uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine; misinformation, education and free choice; frustration and anger among family carers. The variable uptake in staff, compared to family carers, was a key factor seemingly influencing visitation, with a lack of clear guidance leading care homes to implement infection control measures and visitation rights differently. Conclusions we make five recommendations in this paper to enable improved care home visitation in the ongoing, and in future, pandemics. Visits need to be enabled and any changes to visiting rights must be used as a last resort, reviewed regularly in consultation with residents and carers and restored as soon as possible as a top priority, whilst more education needs to be provided surrounding vaccination for care home staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses promissory discourse for genome editing and human health in the UK, attending to the articulation of public goods and their beneficiary publics. Focusing on promissory reasoning about an emerging technology field as anticipatory and ethical considerations as integral to such debates, the notion of ethical regime as a mode of governance is applied to the concept of promissory regime. By analyzing key documents and interviews with opinion leaders—thus focusing on the discursive dimension—an enabling promissory ethical regime for genome editing and its contestation are identified. This regime posits scientific knowledge production now, and improved treatment or prevention of hereditary diseases later, as key goods of genome editing for human health and as a sociotechnical project worthy of support. Specific publics are created as beneficiaries. These publics and goods play out as ethical rationales for the promissory governance of the emerging field of human genome editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. A review of the literature was undertaken to evaluate the development and psychometric properties of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures used in adults with SLE. This information will help clinicians make an informed choice about the measures most appropriate for research and clinical practice.Methods. Using the key words lupus and quality of life, full original papers in English were identified from six databases: OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine, Psychinfo, Web of Science and Health and Psychosocial Instruments. Only studies describing the validation of HRQoL measures in adult SLE patients were retrieved.Results. Thirteen papers were relevant; five evaluated generic instruments [QOLS-S (n = 1), EQ-5D/SF-6D (n = 1), SF-36 (n = 3)] and eight evaluated disease-specific measures [L-QOL (n = 1), LupusQoL (UK) (n = 1), LupusQoL (US) (n = 1), SSC (n = 2), SLEQOL (n = 3)]. For the generic measures, there is moderate evidence of good content validity and internal consistency, whereas there is strong evidence for both these psychometric properties in disease-specific measures. There is limited to moderate evidence to support the construct validity and test–retest reliability for the disease-specific measures. Responsiveness and floor/ceiling effects have not been adequately investigated in any of the measures.Conclusions. Direct comparison of the psychometric properties was difficult because of the different methodologies employed in the development and evaluation of the different HRQoL measures. However, there is supportive evidence that multidimensional disease-specific measures are the most suitable in terms of content and internal reliability for use in studies of adult patients with SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although the presentation of original research to learned societies is valuable, the target should be publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Therefore, the strength of a meeting may be assessed by the rate of the subsequent publication of papers from the presented abstracts. We conducted an analysis of abstracts presented at consecutive annual meetings of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) in Great Britain and Ireland over a 15-year period. Abstract books and other documentation from the 1993–2007 meetings were reviewed; abstracts from other major Cardiothoracic Surgery meetings held in 2007 were also reviewed. Medline was searched to identify the peer-reviewed publications arising from each work presented. For abstracts presented at SCTS in 2003–07, the factors potentially associated with publication were analysed by logistic regression. If no publications were identified, authors were contacted through a standardized email questionnaire to ascertain its status and reasons for non-publication. Over the 15-year period, 909 abstracts were presented at the SCTS meetings. The rate of publication rose from ∼30% in the mid-1990s to consistently >60% from recent meetings, with a high of 81.3% from 2006. However, in comparison with other Cardiothoracic Surgery meetings in 2007, the chance of subsequent publication from SCTS (66.7%) was lower than from the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (75.0%), the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (83.9%) and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (72.5%) meetings. For abstracts presented at the last five SCTS meetings, publication was most commonly in a speciality journal (56.3%) and the median time for publication was 15 months (range −24 to 63 months) with 14 papers published prior to presentation at the meeting. On regression analysis, the only factor associated with publication was the study design comparing randomized trials and systematic reviews with other types of study (P < 0.01). Of the 90 unpublished abstracts, 48 (53.3%) authors replied to an email questionnaire revealing that 41 (85.4%) were never submitted for publication. The most common reasons given were low priority (29.6%) and low likelihood of acceptance (24.1%). In recent years, the annual meeting of the Society has become a forum for the presentation of high-quality research that usually withstands peer-review, most commonly in a speciality journal. The rate of publication has increased to consistently >60%, although those that remain unpublished are generally never submitted. This compares favourably with national meetings of other surgical societies, although it is lower than other major cardiothoracic meetings which have an affiliated journal. At a time when it has been suggested that medical research in the UK is in decline, cardiothoracic surgery appears to be thriving. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author provides a brief clarification of his original article which was mis-anticipated by Paul Michael Garrett. He explores the insights which whiteness studies, potentially offer into the ways that race operates outside situations that are seen as characteristic difference along with consideration of number of problems related to whiteness including a tendency to reproduce a black/white binary opposition, simplistic accounts of the processes through which racialisation occurs and a limiting focus on racism as an aspect of internal values. Further justification of his criticism by Garrett icluding small number of texts regarding whiteness in social work education, warrants more detailling consideration and unexploration of class is also presented.

The evolving nature of atypical work arrangements is studied. A particular focus is placed on one such form of work relation: zero-hours contracts (ZHCs). The paper uses existing secondary data and new survey data collected for the specific purpose of studying alternative work arrangements to describe the nature of ZHC work in the UK labour market. The interaction with labour market policy is explored, in the context of the 2016 introduction of the UK's National Living Wage. ZHC work is shown to be an important feature of today's work arrangements, and the wage cost shock induced by the new, higher minimum wage resulted in an increased use of ZHCs in the UK social care sector, and in low wage sectors more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives A growing body of work suggests that co- or peer-research may contribute to understanding the complex health and social problems experienced in later life. Yet, only a limited number of studies have involved older persons as partners in the research process. Moreover, in conflict with the philosophy of participatory research, the views of those acting as coresearchers tend to be ignored. This paper gives an "insider" account of the process of coresearch, drawing upon the experiences of older people trained to undertake a community-based research project. Research Design and Methods Eighteen older adults were recruited and trained as coresearchers to take a leading role in a study aimed at developing "age-friendly" communities in Manchester, UK. The coresearchers completed 68 interviews with residents aged 60 years and over who were experiencing isolation within their neighborhood. The findings are based upon four reflection meetings held with the coresearchers, all of which were transcribed with thematic analysis conducted using Atlas.ti. Results Coresearchers identified a range of advantages associated with the coresearch approach, these linked to the recruitment of participants, quality of data, potential for social change as well as personal benefits. They also identified ethical, methodological, and practical issues encountered during the research. Discussion and Implications The study demonstrates the contribution of coresearch for expanding methodological diversity, accessing seldom heard populations, and utilizing the skills and resources of older people. The research also highlights the opportunities for partnerships between older people and local stakeholders to facilitate community change and social action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political flexibility brings about trade-offs for policy-makers aiming to support the deployment of renewable energy sources (RES). On the one hand, it allows incorporating new information on ex ante uncertain benefits and costs of RES policy. On the other hand, it may deter RES investments. This paper scrutinizes how these trade-offs play out economically and politically when RES policy-makers choose the degree of flexibility as well as the instruments to implement flexibility. The analysis builds on a theoretical framework distinguishing between flexibility by design and by adjustment. It is complemented by a discussion of three case studies: RES support schemes in Germany and the United Kingdom, and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Theoretical as well as empirical results suggest that the politically chosen degree of flexibility by policy design may be sub-optimally low. In contrast, flexibility by policy adjustment is often excessively high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth differences across regions and cities can only be partly explained by standard explanations in economic geography. One reason for this might be the neglect of the psychological make-up of cities and its citizens. To assess the value added of incorporating psychological factors alongside the more standard explanations, this paper tests the relevance of personality traits for economic growth for a sample of UK cities. We argue that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, and the traits that make up entrepreneurship culture help to explain urban growth differences. The personality scores of >400,000 UK residents are combined with economic data for 63 UK cities from 1981 to 2011. We find that both Neuroticism and entrepreneurship culture matter for economic growth. Our main contribution is that geographically clustered personality traits help to understand economic growth differences, and add explanatory power over and above standard determinants, also when the recursive relationship between personality traits and economic growth is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a realistic structural lifecycle model of consumption and housing decisions to understand how data might distinguish different mechanisms that explain the correlation between house prices and consumption. The model includes price and earnings shocks estimated from data (the latter including aggregate and idiosyncratic components), and incorporates realistic features of the UK mortgage market. We simulate the model using more than 30 years of realized shocks and under counterfactual scenarios. Our results confirm the intuition of earlier studies: house price shocks should have a larger effect on the consumption of older households and earnings shocks on young households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1807 onwards, bilateral slave-trade treaties stipulated how naval squadrons would rescue slaves from slave ships, and how states should arrange the settlement and apprenticeship of these slaves, to transform them into 'liberated Africans'. Comparing interactions between the state and liberated Africans at sea along the South African and Brazilian coasts, and in the port towns of Cape Town and Salvador, reveals how the legal status of liberated Africans changed over time. Current scholarship has framed liberated Africans in terms of whether they were attributed rights or suffered re-enslavement, and thus focused on their solidarity through claiming rights, 'ethnic survivals' or creolization. Instead, this paper argues anti-slave-trade legislation ascribed to liberated Africans a set of unguaranteed entitlements – promises regarding status and treatment without obligating states to uphold that status or treatment. By focusing on the precise aspects of legislation that operated at each point in the process of anti-slave-trade activity – rescuing slaves from slave ships, transportation to a port, processing through a court, and apprenticeship – this paper unearths how the law came into force in the encounter between state officials and liberated Africans, as part of the complex transition from slavery to free labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last 10 years, many OECD countries introduced reforms which included automatic enrolment or mandatory participation in privately managed pension schemes. The current article aims to reveal the benefits and costs of privately managed pension schemes. The article uses a study of pension schemes’ bylaws in Israel to study the degree to which the shift to privately operated DC schemes results in the transfer of risk from capital to labour and in the entrenchment of gender and income inequalities. The article shows that the shift of pension provision from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) entails a significant shift of risk from capital to labour. Moreover, separately from the DB to DC shift, moving from public management to private management increases employees’ pension risks. Lastly, the paper shows that the combination of the shifts from DB to DC and from public to private management involves a shift in governance, which exposes pension scheme members to a high likelihood of lower returns as well as to gender and income inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper explores the notion of professional curiosity within child protection practice considering the barriers that can inhibit social workers invoking curiosity. The authors contend that definitions of professional curiosity are lacking in clarity and transparency; at the time of writing, we are not aware of any other endeavours to create a definitional reference point or analysis of this concept. Furthermore, invoking professional curiosity is challenging when the social work task is pressurised, stressful and operates within a system that is stretched to breaking point. Drawing on messages from Serious Case Reviews in the UK which identify social work failings in context of a lack of professional curiosity, this paper initially focuses on constructing some definitional reference point, moving on to explore factors that may inhibit curiosity in practice. We cement connections between the emotional dimension of child protection practice, organisational context and the wider neo-liberal political climate, constructing these as potential barriers to invoking curiosity. We contend the interplay of such complicated relational dynamics has the potential to distort professional judgement, including enacting curiosity. Finally, we consider realistic mechanisms by which social workers could be supported to generate creativity and curiosity in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence, timing and possible causes of the British industrial revolution are considered by investigating the time series properties of industrial production and various explanatory variables. Utilizing co-integration-based causality tests, this paper argues that domestic forces, notably population, real wages and technological progress, shaped the industrial revolution, whereas overseas trade expansion was a consequence of industrial growth. The first industrial revolution may shed more general light on the forces promoting industrialization and growth. To the extent that the first industrial revolution offers a template, exports do not appear to provide a simple pathway in industrialization.

An ageing population and increased longevity means that long term care will become progressively more expensive. In 2009 the Government published a Green Paper on future funding options and a White Paper in 2010. This article considers the role of private finance products under the 'Partnership' option. It finds that few households are able to pay for LTC based on income and savings but the number increases if housing assets are included. We show that products can be devised for a range of circumstances, although state support would need to continue. We propose a simplified means testing system based on a combination of income and assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a unique measure of performance of English local governments in the provision of public services (Comprehensive Performance Assessment, CPA), this paper uses panel data (2002–7) to identify the determinants of performance. In particular, by thoroughly exploiting the features of the British system of local government finance and the mandatory nature of decentralized public service provision, this paper aims at investigating the impact of government spending on public service outcomes. Due to the nature of CPA ratings—measured on a five category (poor to excellent) scale—the empirical work relies on an ordered response approach allowing for cross-sectional heterogeneity. The empirical evidence suggests that local public expenditures in excess of centrally set spending standards have a detrimental effect on performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the first part of this paper, we present a stylized model of the labour market impact of immigration. We then discuss mechanisms through which an economy can adjust to immigration: changes in factor prices, output mix, and production technology. In the second part, we explain the problems of empirically estimating how immigration affects labour market outcomes of the resident population and review some strategies to address these. We then summarize some recent empirical studies for the UK and other countries. We conclude with an outlook on what we believe are important avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of university spin-offs and the development of its biotechnology industry are two of the UK's and many other countries' top research-to-commercialisation priorities. Usually more is known about the numbers of spin-offs than their performance. This paper analyses the performance of 56 biomedical spin-offs from Oxfordshire's universities and public sector research laboratories with respect to human resources, the degree of innovative capability and internationalisation. In so doing, it explores the contribution of this group of firms to the evolution of science-based industry in this particular location which is one of the UK's leading centres of research and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper draws on research in the United Kingdom which set out to explore young people's understandings and experiences of health as experienced in their everyday lives and according to their own terms of reference, rather than in response to policy priorities. The project involved a peer research process followed by a large community learning event in which practitioners, community leaders and decision makers were brought together in dialogue with young people to develop understanding and explore responses to young people's health needs as a collaborative process. The paper documents an 'alternative' 'participative action research' approach to involving young people in research and developing responses to issues and problems that affect them. The paper highlights the value of a dialogical and enquiry-based approach supported by the use of visuals for engaging professionals in collaboration with young people in a process of learning for change. It draws attention to the 'policy gap' between professional understandings of young people's health needs and young people's lived realities and how this is reflected in differences in what young people and professionals consider appropriate responses to stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the modernization of social work and social care. Particular focus is given to the impact and implications of the 1989 white paper "Caring for People: Community Care in the Next Decade and Beyond, the changing patterns of social work and informal caring on a global level, and the public policies of community care in Great Britain. Research on the social work and care from various white papers are referenced. The author also reflects on the scholarly articles featured in the current issue of the periodical which focus on the progress that has been achieved in social care and work for adults since 1997.

Qualitative research may be able to provide an answer as to why adults and children do or do not participate in sport and physical activity. This paper systematically examines published and unpublished qualitative research studies of UK children's and adults' reasons for participation and non-participation in sport and physical activity. The review covers peer reviewed and gray literature from 1990 to 2004. Papers were entered into review if they: aimed to explore the participants' experiences of sport and physical activity and reasons for participation or non-participation in sport and physical activity, collected information on participants who lived in the United Kingdom and presented data collected using qualitative methods. From >1200 papers identified in the initial search, 24 papers met all inclusion criteria. The majority of these reported research with young people based in community settings. Weight management, social interaction and enjoyment were common reasons for participation in sport and physical activity. Concerns about maintaining a slim body shape motivated participation among young girls. Older people identified the importance of sport and physical activity in staving off the effects of aging and providing a social support network. Challenges to identity such as having to show others an unfit body, lacking confidence and competence in core skills or appearing overly masculine were barriers to participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the December 2006 issue of the "British Journal of Social Work," the death of writer Jo Camplin in July 2006, the reorganization of the Journal into a variety of categories, the enhancement of the publication in the United States, Jane Campell, a new member of the Editorial Board, the twice annual publication of the "Critical Commentary" column, a new project that's seeking to establish an ethical framework for social work research, and Journal papers by Nick Jones, Bill Jordan, Paul Stepney, Ravinder Barn, Vicki Harman, and Clive Sellick.

Many papers have documented wide variations in productivity even in narrowly defined industries. Some have argued that this primarily reflects measurement problems due, for example, to comparing across different products. Others argue that this reflects persistent differences in performance due, for example, to management. This paper looks at productivity differences not within an industry but within a firm. We use data on productivity of different branches within lines of business of a major UK-based wholesaler. Using these productivity data for comparisons is, we argue, more likely to compare like with like than comparing between firms. We document sustained differences in productivity even between branches within the same line of business. We also discuss the extent to which they are correlated with differences in management and find that such differences 'account' for around 40 per cent of the difference in productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests two major competing theories explaining the spatial concentration of economic activity, namely new economic geography theory (NEG) which emphasizes varying market potential, and urban economics theory (UE) in which the main emphasis is on producer service linkages. Using wage rate variations across small regions of Great Britain, the paper finds that it is UE theory rather than NEG theory that has most explanatory power. Evidence for this comes from encompassing both models within an artificial nesting model. Despite the popularity of NEG theory, this paper shows that although NEG works well using regional data, there is evidence that it does not necessarily provide the best explanation of local wage variations, since producer services inputs associated with UE theory and labour efficiency variations are important effects at a local level, and these are excluded from the formal NEG model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between drugs and crime is one of the central concerns of contemporary British drugs research and policy. Another major concern in recent years has been the clustering together of the most serious problems of drugs and crime in neighbourhoods already experiencing multiple social and economic difficulties. This paper seeks, first of all, to re-situate the drug-crime nexus in its full social context in order to provide a new perspective on these two key aspects of the British drug problem today. In doing so, the analysis raises in applied form some important issues in criminological theory and the paper attempts, secondly, to make a contribution to these theoretical debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a letter from the editor of "British Journal of Social Work" concerning the October 2007 issue. Articles in the issue focus on the experiences of users accessing social work services, issues of financial remuneration or payment, and social workers themselves. The author details the major points of the papers included in the issue, focusing particularly on an article describing the significance and consequences of social worker registration and regulation in England through the General Social Care Council.

The article presents information on the Third Workshop on Early Modern German History," held in London on the October 22, 2004. The third annual session of this successful venture, sponsored by the German Historical Society, the German Historical Institute and the University of Sunderland, brought over thirty scholars to Bloomsbury Square. The explicit aim of the workshop is to offer a cross-disciplinary forum to discuss new research on early modern German-speaking Europe. Following a general call for papers, co-organizers Michael Schaich and Peter Wilson selected ten speakers representing the rich spectrum of work currently in progress.

Launched in 1897, The House was Britain's first modern home decoration magazine. Its founder, John Benn, was a trade paper magnate whose career had been marked by a string of successes. The House collapsed after just five years. This article seeks to explain The House's failure. The House flopped, at least in part, because its editors adhered too closely to the ideas of design reform. The fixed principles of correct taste advocated in its pages, along with the magazine's persistent criticism of consumers, did little to win The House loyal subscribers. By the 1890s, house decoration was increasingly understood as an expression of individuality, not as a matter of following rules. By comparing The House's demise with the contemporaneous success of the 'lady art advisers' of the women's press--whose columns endorsed self-expression over correctness--this article suggests that the cause of design reform ultimately foundered on the shoals of the consumer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]