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A conference paper about the importance of urban gardens to biodiversity is presented. It highlights that the garden space in London, England is not proportionate to the other cities in Great Britain. Noted are the benefits associated urban gardens which include providing habitat for wildlife and adapting to impacts of climate change. It cites several native plant and animal species supported by urban gardens such as black redstart, stag beetle and garden trees.

Using a new source of evidence we explore the mobility of mid-nineteenth century seamen. Among seamen born outside London, the tall, the literate and those who could remember the exact day, month and year when they were born, characteristics that we suggest mark them out as men with more choices in life, were more likely to migrate to London. Contrary to what might be inferred from contemporary descriptions of urban disamenities or from persistent differentials in mortality, London appears as a desirable destination for those who could choose. The conclusion must be that London was not so bad, and we should adjust our perception of the problems of urbanisation accordingly, with implications for the wider debate on the standard of living during the industrial revolution. The paper’s methodological interest is the use of height as an explanatory variable in the analysis of migration. Although correlated with other variables that are routinely used in anthropometric studies to indicate life chances, such as literacy and the ability to know and recall date of birth, height has empirical advantages over these alternatives in that it exhibits higher levels of significance. Moreover while literacy and heaping are in essence binary variables, height is a (near) continuous one, and one that allows us to test for linear and non-linear responses, as we do with interesting results in this paper. Perhaps the most fruitful use of height in historical analyses may turn out to be as an explanatory variable; at the very least such a research strategy provides anthropometric historians with further opportunities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a research paper which describes a postcode lottery effect in relation to the national health services (NHS) Health Checks Programme in eight Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the North West sector of London, England. It mentions that postcode lotteries in health refer to differences in health care between different geographic areas. It reports that the program provides tools which are used to identify and measure risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The remnant of once-famous “London Stone” stands almost unnoticed today in Cannon Street, in the City of London. Speculation about its origin began as early as the sixteenth century. This paper considers in particular the identification of the Stone as London's talisman (a view embodied in an invented “ancient saying” that linked it to the city's legendary Trojan foundation), or as a prehistoric “fetish stone” set up when London was first settled. The mythologising of London Stone continues, and at the turn of the twenty-first century it is regarded by some as an essential element in London's indefinable “sacred geometry.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In England, influenza and pertussis vaccination has been recommended for all pregnant women since 2010 and 2012 respectively. However, in some areas, vaccination uptake rates have been low. A qualitative study was conducted to gain a contextualised understanding of factors influencing vaccination acceptance during pregnancy in Hackney, a borough in north-east London, UK. This paper draws on in-depth insights gained from the above study, to provide recommendations for increasing long-term maternal vaccination acceptance.Methods: Hackney was chosen as the study site because it has one of the lowest vaccination coverage rates in pregnancy in the UK. A maximum variation sampling method was used to recruit 47 pregnant and recently pregnant women from a wide range of backgrounds, as well as ten healthcare professionals from three general practices; two community antenatal clinics; nine parent-toddler groups; and four community centres. In-depth interviews and a video-recording of a pregnant patient's consultation, explored experiences of care within the National Health Service during pregnancy, and women's views about maternal vaccination. In-depth interviews with healthcare professionals explored their views towards, and how they discuss and provide maternal vaccination. Study data were analysed both deductively, through drawing on insights from anthropological works that address diverse conceptualisations and practices around vaccination; and inductively, with a thematic analysis approach.Results: The findings of this study and the recommendations based on them were divided into five broad themes: access to maternal vaccination; healthcare institution rhetoric and its effect on maternal vaccination acceptance; community and family influences on maternal vaccination decisions; healthcare professionals' views towards maternal vaccination; and the influence of patient-healthcare professional relationships on maternal vaccination acceptance.Conclusions: The strategies to improve maternal vaccination acceptance recommended in this paper would engender a more open and democratised healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses aspects of maximizing the use of public research in Great Britain. He states that the most significant policy moves in open access in 2012 came from Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the Wellcome Trust. He mentions that from April 2013, papers arising from RCUK funding must be made free to access.