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"Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia" is a book by Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr that explores the cultural pathways of traditional Scottish and Irish folk music as it traveled to Appalachia. The book examines the influences of Welsh, English, German, Dutch, French, African American, and Cherokee cultures on these songs. It is structured into three main sections and includes photographs, maps, and sidebars covering various topics related to folk music. The authors also exchange letters discussing their perspectives on Old and New World music. The book sheds light on the history of American folk music and its connection to immigrant experiences. It includes a contextual timeline, resource centers, a discography, and a bibliography for further exploration. Scholars and music enthusiasts will find this book to be a valuable resource. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Deaths due to drug overdose are an international issue, causing an estimated 128,000 global deaths in 2019. Scotland has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe, with those in the most deprived areas at greater risk than those in affluent areas. There is a paucity of research on digital solutions, particularly from the perspective of those who use drugs who additionally access harm reduction and homelessness support services. The Digital Lifelines Scotland programme (DLS) provides vulnerable people who use/d drugs with digital devices to connect with services. Methods: This paper reports on the evaluation of the DLS from the perspective of service users who accessed services for those at risk of drug-related harms. A mixed methods approach was used including an online-survey (n = 19) and semi-structured interviews (n = 21). Survey data were analysed descriptively and interview data through inductive coding, informed by the Technology, People, Organisations and Macroenvironmental factors (TPOM) framework, to investigate the use, access, and availability of devices, and people's experiences and perceptions of them. Results: Most participants lived in social/council housing (63.2%, n = 12), many lived alone (68.4%, n = 13). They were mainly over 40 years old and lived in a city. Participants described a desire for data privacy, knowledge, and education, and placed a nascent social and personal value on digital devices. Participants pointed to the person-centred individuality of the service provision as one of the reasons to routinely engage with services. Service users experienced an increased sense of value and there was a palpable sense of community, connection and belonging developed through the programme, including interaction with services and devices. Conclusions: This paper presents a unique perspective which documents the experiences of service users on the DLS. Participants illustrated a desire for life improvement and a collective and individual feeling of responsibility towards themselves and digital devices. Digital inclusion has the potential to provide avenues by which service users can safely and constructively access services and society to improve outcomes. This paper provides a foundation to further cultivate the insight of service users on digital solutions in this emerging area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Universal health visiting has been a cornerstone of preventative healthcare for children in the United Kingdom (UK) for over 100 years. In 2016, Scotland introduced a new Universal Health Visiting Pathway (UHVP), involving a greater number of contacts with a particular emphasis on the first year, visits within the home setting, and rigorous developmental assessment conducted by a qualified Health Visitor. To evaluate the UHVP, an outcome indicator framework was developed using routine administrative data. This paper sets out the development of these indicators. Methods: A logic model was produced with stakeholders to define the group of outcomes, before further refining and aligning of the measures through discussions with stakeholders and inspection of data. Power calculations were carried out and initial data described for the chosen indicators. Results: Eighteen indicators were selected across eight outcome areas: parental smoking, breastfeeding, immunisations, dental health, developmental concerns, obesity, accidents and injuries, and child protection interventions. Data quality was mixed. Coverage of reviews was high; over 90% of children received key reviews. Individual item completion was more variable: 92.2% had breastfeeding data at 6–8 weeks, whilst 63.2% had BMI recorded at 27–30 months. Prevalence also varied greatly, from 1.3% of children's names being on the Child Protection register for over six months by age three, to 93.6% having received all immunisations by age two. Conclusions: Home visiting services play a key role in ensuring children and families have the right support to enable the best start in life. As these programmes evolve, it is crucial to understand whether changes lead to improvements in child outcomes. This paper describes a set of indicators using routinely-collected data, lessening additional burden on participants, and reducing response bias which may be apparent in other forms of evaluation. Further research is needed to explore the transferability of this indicator framework to other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores some challenges of archaeological interpretation and classification through an enclosure at Inchnadamph in Sutherland, northwestern Scotland, a site that has proven difficult to interpret. Despite a small number of archaeological interventions, including topographic and geophysical survey and excavation, the site remains enigmatic. We discuss the different interpretations suggested for the site in turn, concluding that the enclosure does not fit readily into existing classification schemes. This raises issues surrounding the use of classification systems, prior assumptions, and the need for critical thinking in interpretation. These are universal issues, applicable beyond the Scottish example chosen, and this paper highlights concerns and difficulties encountered by all who deal with the classification of sites and monuments. Ultimately, this challenges some of our preconceptions and sheds light on the limits of our knowledge, as well as the limits of our classification systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The ENT Scotland society (formerly known as the Scottish Otolaryngological Society) has two meetings a year and accepts oral presentations from trainees. This study aimed to identify publication rates from these meetings. Methods: Abstracts of the presentations are published in The Journal of Laryngology and Otology. A structured search on PubMed and Google Scholar was undertaken to identify which presentations from the 2005 to 2014 meetings have been published. Results: Of the 145 abstracts found, 60.7 per cent were presenting clinical research and 44.1 per cent were related to the head and neck subspecialty. Seventy-three abstracts (50.3 per cent) were associated with publication as a peer-reviewed article; otology papers were more likely to be published than those focusing on other subspecialties (64.3 per cent, p = 0.036). No correlation was found between publication and other factors. Conclusion: Presentations at the ENT Scotland meetings undergo unbiased peer review and are as likely to be published as those of other conferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses pathways to successful partnership working between a significant private archive of a major Scottish landed estate and family, its local community, the wider academic context, and public and charitable agencies. The archives of the Argyll estates and family are housed at their seat, Inveraray Castle, and represent one of the most important private collections in Scotland, encompassing political, social, cultural and economic content over a large geographical area and a long chronology. As such it has obvious academic attractions, which this article explores, but it is also a vital local resource for communities who used to or currently reside on the Argyll estates, as well as genealogists, and family historians. This article uses the Argyll Papers as a case study to explore the ways in which estate archives can animate and illuminate community and heritage priorities in remote and rural areas of great socio-economic fragility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes to sign languages or language policies are often not overtly discussed or recorded but they influence deaf young people's educational opportunities and outcomes. Two qualitative studies from Scotland investigate the provision of British Sign Language as accommodation in public examinations. The first explores the views of deaf pupils and staff about the official system for face‐to‐face interpretation of exam papers. The second investigates a centrally translated digital paper with embedded video questions. Discussion focuses on contrasts between the USA and UK approaches to accommodations, raising issues of standardized technical terms in signed languages, the right to respond in sign, and candidate choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses how religious comprehension was promoted by the Scottish authorities after the revolution of 1688–9 to reach a compromise between the nation's two main religious groups: the Presbyterians and the Episcopalians. Unlike the failed attempt to enact comprehension in England in 1689, in Scotland five attempts were made from 1689 to 1694 to accommodate Episcopalians into the Church. The article argues that comprehension forced the Scots to confront the practical limits of their commitment to religious uniformity, and was central to their transition from a Reformed nation that cherished uniformity to one that begrudgingly accepted the existence of pluralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the stability of photographer Robert Adamson's salted paper prints in Scotland. Adoption of hypo-fixation; Use of photogenic drawing paper; Caveat concerning the nomenclature used for historical photographic processes.

This paper calls for greater attention to the interpersonal aspects of youth activism through a sociological and Black feminist exploration of peer relationships within youth political engagement. Drawing on a multi‐method qualitative research, the work foregrounds the perspectives and experiences of Black girls and girls of colour involved in an anti‐racist Scottish youth work charity. I argue that community and friendship ties cultivated participants' activism. Moreover, participants sought to enact social change by undertaking activist educational practices with their peers. This paper demonstrates how studying young people's peer relationships can engender a better understanding of youth activism and support it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining migrant homemaking is multi-disciplinary and well-developed, providing evidence that 'home' exists in multiple places. However, only a small component of this work examines the role of the senses. This paper draws on research conducted between 2015 and 2019 in Glasgow, a city in Scotland, UK, with migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women that used photo elicitation interviews, to bridge the gap between scholarship on migrant homemaking and the senses. The paper empirically demonstrates how the senses allow migrants to cultivate the embodied experience of physically being elsewhere by drawing on sensory memories, practices, and material cultures, specifically engaging taste and smell. The paper analyses the experience of four participants who described this sensation, and addresses the impact of the security of migrant status and financial resources in sensory homemaking. The concluding discussion proposes the concept of 'sensory space-time compression' as a novel way of understanding the sensory experiences of home in the context of migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of art education research in the United Kingdom originates from England; however, the devolved nations each have responsibility for education resulting in four different curricula working concurrently across Great Britain. It can be argued that in comparison to England, art and design education research in Scotland is an under‐researched area though one that is increasingly garnering interest. This paper contributes to the field by presenting and discussing some of the findings from a survey of teachers focused on art and design education in Scottish primary schools in 2022. A total of 110 teachers participated and the survey examined the value of the subject, the current delivery in schools, the future of the subject and support for teachers. A wealth of data were gathered so this paper focuses particularly on the value of the subject among staff, confidence levels regarding delivery and the role of training and professional learning. The paper concludes that while the value of the subject among staff is strong, confidence levels with regard to teaching the subject are not. Staff felt that training had left them unprepared to teach the subject, and there was limited awareness of professional learning opportunities in their geographical area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of this study was to gain consensus among young people with a stoma due to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on the priorities for the content of an intervention for the self‐management of stoma‐related distress. The current identification and management of distress in young people with a stoma is often suboptimal in clinical settings and there is a need for improved support resources. Methods: Two consensus group meetings were carried out via online video conferencing, using nominal group technique. Participants generated, rated on a Likert scale and discussed, topics for inclusion in a future self‐management intervention. Results: Nineteen young people, aged 19–33, with a stoma due to IBD took part in one of two group meetings. Participants were located across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Twenty‐nine topics were generated by participants, seven of which reached consensus of ≥80%, that is, a mean of ≥5.6 on a 7‐point Likert scale. These were: receiving advice from young people with lived experience of stoma surgery; advice on/addressing concerns about romantic relationships, sex and intimacy; information about fertility and pregnancy related to stoma surgery; stoma 'hacks', for example, useful everyday tips regarding clothing, making bag changes easier and so forth; reflecting on and recognising own emotional response to surgery; tips on managing the stoma during the night; and processing trauma related to the illness and surgery journey. Conclusions: Findings extend previous research on young people's experiences of stoma surgery, by generating consensus on young people's priorities for managing distress related to surgery and living with a stoma. These priorities include topics not previously reported in the literature, including the need for information about fertility and pregnancy. Findings will inform the development of a self‐management resource for young people with an IBD stoma and have relevance for the clinical management of stoma‐related distress in this population. Patient or Public Contribution: Three patient contributors are co‐authors on this paper, having contributed to the study design, interpretation of results and writing of the manuscript. The study's Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement advisory group also had an integral role in the study. They met with the research team for four 2‐h virtual meetings, giving input on the aims and purpose of the study, recruitment methods, and interpretation of findings. The group also advised on the age range for participants. The views of young people with a stoma are the central component of the study reported in this paper, which aims to gain consensus among young people with an IBD stoma on their priorities for the content of a resource to self‐manage distress related to stoma surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the theme of collaboration through the prism of game design, and especially the example of serious games. At its heart, this is a consideration of two collaborative projects between experts. The first is a current collaboration between computer scientists, game designers, and a theatre company in Scotland, in which the author is also a collaborator and the project's ethnographer. The second is perhaps the largest and most high-profile collaborative project recently led and documented by anthropologists, Meridian 180, which aims to experiment with the norms of collaboration itself, and which has already been theorised and extensively reflected upon by one of its founders, Annelise Riles. The paper aims to put these two collaborations into some kind of conversation in order to throw each into productive relief and to ask some new questions about how we think about both the exercise of collaboration and the deliberate subversion of its norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the implementation of the 'Prevent Duty' in Scotland. Using archival research into Parliamentary debates, as well as research interviews with Scottish government representatives and healthcare professionals, the paper sheds light on the constitutional politics surrounding the Counterterrorism and Security Act 2015 which resulted in the markedly different applications of Prevent between England and Scotland. The divergence of the policy between the nations, and the constitutional anomalies which facilitated a specifically Scottish Prevent program, have remained unaddressed in the academic literature—partly because of a mistaken assumption by researchers that the Prevent Strategy equally applies to all nations (given that Westminster legislates for the UK on matters of defence and security). To fill this gap in knowledge, this paper explores how the Scottish government was able to leverage the devolution settlement and associated constitutional conventions to implement a modest P/CVE program—dropping some components of the English and Welsh Prevent programs entirely. The paper contributes to studies on British constitutional conventions and the nature of inter-governmental politics in the UK by highlighting the surprising freedom to manoeuvre Scotland can enjoy, with regards to reserved policy areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Description Within the current climate of health care pressures, services are exploring ways in which to use resources to the best of their ability to ensure service users have timely, safe, and effective care as well as having positive outcomes and good experiences of the care they receive. The current paper explores a service level agreement between the private sector and a child and family service within the HSC. Within this agreement, has been the development of a pathway through which families on a psychological service waiting list, could be triaged, and allocated to a private clinic within which, psychological care could be provided from assessment through to discharge. The subjective experiences and initial outcomes of those involved have been largely positive. The paper describes, explores, and reflects on the process of collaborative practice. Terminology HSC – Health & Social Care. In England, Scotland and Wales, the National Health Service (NHS) provides health care services while local councils provide social care services. In Northern Ireland these services are combined under what is known as Health and Social Care (HSC) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negligible attention has been given to how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted upon social and economic attributes of rural and island (R&I) places. The paper considers impacts of COVID-19 on the resilience of Scottish R&I communities during the crisis or emergency stage of the pandemic and then after its shift to what may be described as an everyday disruption, suggesting ways that communities could transition to a resilient future in a post-COVID world. The paper's longitudinal, qualitative, Scotland-wide, and holistic assessment of community change and responses represents a novel approach to exploring the impacts of the pandemic on resilience between 2020 and 2022. It allows greater understanding to be gained about both the pandemic's impacts on socio-economic aspects of Scottish R&I communities and the implications for transitioning to a more resilient post COVID-19 rural world. The paper reports that, when those who participated in the research discussed transitioning to a new future for R&I places, their thoughts about how it should change altered over time. Specifically, by addressing dual discourses of emergency and everyday resilience, the paper identifies how the impacts of COVID-19 affected resilience during different stages of the pandemic and what might be learned about ongoing resilience in R&I communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing digitalisation and access to communication technologies has arguably never been more important to rural communities than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digitalisation assumes a distinct character when looked at through a rural lens, reliable and accessible digital tools and infrastructure having marked implications for the future of rural communities. This was especially pertinent during COVID-19 lockdowns, when in rural (as well as urban) communities there was a push to host local activities and services online. Using reflections from both in-person and online research engagements with a crofting community in the North West Highlands of Scotland, this paper reflects on how the use of digital tools can support the development of different types of social capital. Successful rural digitalisation has the potential to benefit rural crofting communities in multiple ways: e.g. by supporting rural repopulation efforts, enabling access to new digital markets to sell produce, and supporting active participation in local decision-making through online meetings. Several barriers to realising digital benefits still exist in rural regions with specific digitalisation needs and challenges. The paper reflects on empirical findings and considers the future sustainability of rural crofting communities in the post-COVID, digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is rich research on tourism destination evolution, the literature on how normative social and environmental goals (as opposed to contingent events or economic imperatives) drive the evolution of tourism towards more sustainable forms remains under-developed. As a result, the overall understanding of how sustainability in tourism is pursued on the ground and what context-specific factors shape these processes is still insufficient. To address this lacuna, the paper draws upon the sustainability transitions (ST) agenda that focuses on the ground level processes of transitions and conceptualises sustainability transitions as multi-actor, multi-dimensional, evolutionary, disruptive and contested processes. As such, the paper offers a constructive response to Niewiadomski and Brouder's (2022) call for bridging the gap between the research on tourism evolution and the sustainability transitions agenda. More specifically, the paper adopts selected concepts of evolutionary economic geography (EEG) (which have long proved helpful in research on both tourism evolution and sustainability transitions) to address how sustainability in tourism is mindfully pursued in the Outer Hebrides (Scotland, UK) and what geographical and historical factors shape this transition. The analysis draws from 17 semi-structured interviews (conducted in 2020-2021 with tourism businesses and various organisations involved in tourism in the Outer Hebrides) and documentary analysis. Two main groups of place- and path-dependent factors that shape the ongoing transition to sustainable tourism in the Outer Hebrides are identified: 1) institutional and social fragmentation, and 2) infrastructural deficiencies and challenges. The paper finds that the transition to sustainability in tourism in the Outer Hebrides is fragmented and intermittent. Although numerous promising changes are taking place, the transition suffers from a lack of systemic and systematic governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement was vital to nineteenth-century engineering. Focusing on the work of the Stevenson engineering firm in Scotland, this paper explores the processes by which engineers made their measurements credible and explains how measurement, as both a product and a practice, informed engineering decisions and supported claims to engineering authority. By examining attempts made to quantify, measure and map dynamic river spaces, the paper analyses the relationship between engineering experience and judgement and the generation of data that engineers considered to be 'tolerably correct'. While measurement created an abstract and simplified version of the river that accommodated prediction, this abstraction had to be connected to and made meaningful in real river space despite acknowledged limitations to measuring practice. In response, engineers drew on experience gained through the measuring process to support claims to authoritative knowledge. This combination of quantification and experience was then used to support interventions in debates over the proper use and management of rivers. This paper argues that measurement in nineteenth-century engineering served a dual function, producing both data and expertise, which were both significant in underpinning engineering authority and facilitating engineers' intervention in decision making for river management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of shrinking populations, new strategies for maintaining services of general interest in European rural areas are required at both a European and a German level. With regard to this, the field of post-school education as a service of general interest is seen as playing an important role with considerable effects on regional development processes. Educational institutions, traditionally highly centralised, have been shown to influence decisions on staying in or leaving rural areas and thus can further intensify regional demographic developments. In this paper, we examine two examples of post-school educational opportunities in Scotland and Sweden that have been able to establish themselves in a rural setting affected by shrinking trends. Our interpretation is that the continued stability of these examples is due to the ability of local actors to utilise local resources in a meaningful way. The aim of this paper is therefore to contribute to a structured understanding of how local actors manage limited resources to provide services of general interest in the environment of rural, sparsely populated regions in the long term. To enable a systematised analysis of our data, we use an analytical framework originally developed to understand the resources generated by informal planning practices in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sets out the legislative background to the recycling of waste materials in the United Kingdom. Benefits from recycling; The provision of recycling credits under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act; The draft Economic Community (EC) Packaging Waste Directive; The German DSD scheme; The setting forth of the elements of a cost-benefit analysis of waste paper recycling; Application of that analysis to a recycling scheme in central Scotland; Conclusions.

This paper outlines the journey of one Scottish primary school in taking nurturing approaches forward over a 5‐year period, with the aims of improving staff understanding of their role and feeling skilled in using nurturing approaches and improving pupil's health and well‐being and confidence. Using an action research methodology and the local authority How Nurturing is our school framework (Fife Council Educational Psychology Service, 2022), an audit of current practice was undertaken, and priorities identified at universal, additional and intensive levels were put in place. Evaluation data were gathered in a variety of formats from pupils, staff, and parents. Analysis of the evaluation data indicates that pupils had improved understanding of their emotions and how to manage these, staff were experiencing improved relationships and ethos across the school and parents were happy with the support their children were being offered via the nurturing approaches. There was visible improvement in the physical environments, staff thrived on the personal coaching offered and more nurturing practice could be seen and heard throughout the school. It is concluded that the project has made a sustained impact on the health and well‐being of pupils and is now embedded in the school culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the extent to which people drinking at harmful levels responded to minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland in the way they, family members and those providing services anticipated they would. It examines data taken from a larger evaluation of the impact of MUP on people who are drinking at harmful levels. Qualitative interview data, (utilizing interviews and focus groups, with individuals, treatment services, and family members) was generated prior to the implementation of MUP in Scotland to provide insights into anticipated responses and comparable data generated across an extended 19-month period post-implementation and provided insights into actual responses. Overall, the data showed consistency between anticipated and actual responses, with fewer differences observed. In line with anticipated responses, many drinkers switched from cheap, strong ciders to other alcohol products, notably vodka. They consistently responded to the decrease in alcohol affordability by utilizing existing behavior such as managing finances and prioritizing spends on alcohol, including borrowing money, foregoing essentials, and using savings. There was less evidence of anticipated harmful consequences of MUP occurring, such as increased crime, switching to other drugs, or examples of acute withdrawal. Drinkers and those living and working with them, have a good command of how alcohol affordability is maintained or impacts on expenditure and other choices, and how they respond to any decrease in affordability including the introduction of minimum price policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods and Materials Results Conclusion Lookback investigations are conducted by blood services when a risk of transmission of infection from a donor to a recipient has been identified. They involve tracing transfusion recipients and offering them testing for the relevant infectious agent. Results are relayed to the recipient to provide reassurance that there has been no transmission or to ensure appropriate treatment and care if required, and blood services are able to learn lessons from the planning, delivery, and outcomes of the investigation.A national lookback exercise was conducted in Scotland following the introduction of a test to identify occult hepatitis B infection, as recommended by the UK Advisory Committee for the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) in 2021.This paper outlines the development and delivery of a national lookback program. It discusses the logistical, economic, ethical, regulatory, and scientific issues that were considered during the planning and delivery of the lookback exercise.Development and delivery of a national lookback required robust governance, engagement of all relevant stakeholders and a shared understanding of aims, effective communication, systems, resources, limitations, and project management. Outcomes included a high testing uptake, low levels of reported anxiety, and a comprehensive data set.Key aspects for delivery of a successful large‐scale lookback program include a patient‐centered approach, clear and accessible communication, and whole‐systems multiagency collaboration. Major challenges include stakeholder engagement and capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The English alternative embedded passive (AEP), or "needs washed" construction, is a noncanonical morphosyntactic feature found in some American and British Englishes. It involves a matrix verb surfacing immediately before a participle. Previous research has described this construction as only licit with matrix need, want, and like; however, isolated examples of the AEP with additional matrix verbs have surfaced. These rarely attested instances raise questions regarding the basic description of the construction and how matrix verb availability is constrained, as well as whether the AEP is truly the same feature across AmE and BrE varieties. This paper utilizes a large-scale grammaticality judgement survey to obtain as exhaustive a set of AEP matrix verbs as possible. Results show that far more verbs can be used in the AEP than previously attested. Acceptance is constrained by lexical semantics, verbal syntax, and verb productivity. This alternative view of the AEP as a more generalized phenomenon nevertheless shows a strong link between AmE and BrE varieties, as the constraints are nearly identical across the nations. The findings illustrate how attention to rarely attested or non-attested data can inform morphosyntactic and dialectological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The current paper examines the proportion of drinking occasions and total alcohol consumed that takes place at off‐premise locations. Comparisons are made between high‐income countries: Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland, and across drinker‐types: high‐risk and lower‐risk. Methods: Data were taken from the International Alcohol Control study in Australia (N = 1789), New Zealand (N = 1979), England (N = 2844) and Scotland (N = 1864). The cross‐national survey measures location and beverage‐specific alcohol consumption. The number of drinking occasions and mean consumption across on‐ and off‐premise locations and the proportion of drinking occasions that high‐ and lower‐risk drinkers had at on‐ and off‐premise locations was estimated for each country. Results: The majority of drinking occasions among high‐risk drinkers occurred at off‐premise locations across all four countries; Australia 80.1%, New Zealand 72.0%, England 61.7% and Scotland 60.7%. High‐risk drinkers in Australia had significantly larger proportions of drinking occasions occurring at off‐premise locations compared to England and Scotland. Across all countries, high‐risk drinkers and lower‐risk drinkers consumed significantly larger quantities of alcohol per occasion at off‐premise locations compared to on‐premises locations. Finally, the majority of total alcohol consumed occurred at off‐premise locations across all countries for high‐ and lower‐risk drinkers. Discussion and Conclusions: As the accessibility to alcohol outside of licensed premises continues to increase, particularly with the expansion of home delivery services, it is important to be mindful of the high proportion of heavy drinking occasions that occur off‐premise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to the call for research on the impacts of the student housing crisis beyond studentification through an analysis of 26 in-depth interviews with students at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, who experienced housing precarity beginning in September 2022. The testimonies provide further evidence that the increasing unaffordability of housing is creating tensions of exclusion and hardship for students, with wide-ranging impacts on mental health and academic attainment. While the extent of this crisis may seem to legitimate increased building of private sector Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) blocks, I question whether this is a rational response to a crisis of affordability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to generate knowledge about relevant evaluation topics that align with and represent the unique character of the midwifery programme for students living in the rural and remote areas of Scotland. Design/methodology/approach: The first two central concepts of Practical Participatory Evaluation (P-PE) framed the research design: the data production process and (2) the knowledge co-construction process. The data were collected using a semi-structured approach via online discussions, dialogues and email-based consultation among programme stakeholders. A structural analysis was performed: the units of meaning (what was said) were extracted, listed and quantified in units of significance (what the texts were talking about), from which the key topics for evaluation emerged. Findings: A community of 36 stakeholdersengaged in the discussions, dialogues and consultations. The stakeholders identified 58 units of significance. Fifteen subthemes were constructed in five main themes: student profile, student well-being, E-pedagogy, student journey/transition from being a nurse to becoming a midwife and learning in (an online) geographically remote and isolated area. The themes, or topics of evaluation, are dynamic functions and underlying mechanisms of the commonly used evaluation measures student progress and student evaluation. Research limitations/implications: This P-PE is a single-site study, focusing on a unique programme consisting of a specific group of students living and studying a specific geographic area, affecting the transferability of the findings. Originality/value: In collaboration with stakeholders, parameters to evaluate the uniqueness of the programme in addition to higher education institution routinely collected data on student progress and satisfaction were systematically identified. The themes highlight that if student progress and satisfaction were the only evaluation parameters, knowledge and understanding of the contributing factors to (un)successfulness of this unique online midwifery programme could be missed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamophobia, as a form of cultural racism, can take different forms in different contexts. Previous research suggested that there is a perception among some Muslims that anti-Muslim racism is higher in areas where there is a high density of Muslim residents such as Glasgow. In contrast, some others suggest that ethnic minority people are at greater risk of racism in less racially diverse areas because of less community support and less police protection. This paper draws on a research which involved 10 semi-structured interviews with Muslims in different Scottish towns and small cities. The data is collected from marginal contexts that are typically overlooked or neglected in mainstream studies. To discuss the importance of the low or high density of Muslim communities, and any other possible factor, in the experience of Islamophobia the result of this research is compared to the experiences of 33 Muslim participants in Scottish major cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy learning from other international contexts is an important strategy during the sports policymaking process for the government of Taiwan, and recent research has examined potential parallels between Taiwan and Scotland with regards to sports policy. Although the status of Taiwan and Scotland is not the same, interesting comparisons can be made given their shared status as 'contested nations' that are often in the shadow of their closest neighbours with whom there is an uneasy political relationship – respectively, China and England. As a consequence, sport is regarded in both countries as an important vehicle for establishing and promoting a distinctive identity, albeit with contrasting political and policy considerations. Drawing upon 15 semi-structured interviews with sports policymakers and politicians from both Taiwanese and Scottish contexts, this paper critically examines the similarities and contrasts with regards to the political considerations which shape and constrain the nature of sport policy in each context. This analysis will focus on the role of central government, local government, sport policy organisations, and sporting National Governing Bodies in both Taiwan and Scotland, with particular emphasis on the position of sport within the broader policy, political, ideological and constitutional considerations for policymakers in each context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy infrastructures, such as wind and solar farms, require land on which they can be deployed. While politics and conflicts over accessing land for renewables are well documented, the role, conditions and potential agency of landownership have been often overlooked or oversimplified as a powerful terrain in the field of renewables development. In this paper, we explore the relationship between landed property and community renewable energy projects. In particular, we focus on how landed property variously influences the development modes of renewables by acting as a mediator, barrier and enabler for different types of wind energy projects. We show how this takes place through appropriation of rents in processes of assetisation and value grabbing by landowners. In this way, value grabbing acts as a vital intermediary process to understand green grabbing and wider processes of capital accumulation through renewables. We draw on insights from the Netherlands and Scotland to illuminate different mechanisms, social and historical conditions, and policies through which landed property constrains or enables community wind energy projects. The paper finishes by sketching out some alternative ways of allocating land for the deployment of renewable energy projects, which could help shift the balance of power in favour of community energy developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research investigates the presence of communitarian philosophy within contemporary Scottish public library strategy, exploring links between philosophy, politics and practice. Design/methodology/approach: The paper follows a qualitative research approach, combining content analysis and discourse analysis methodologies for the analysis of a corpus of Scottish public library trust documentation according to a thematic framework of communitarian values. Findings: The analysis revealed strong links between trust strategy and communitarian values but also highlighted contradictions within this form of communitarianism which belied a deeper neoliberal philosophical foundation. The research therefore identified a communitarian strategic service shift which introduced benefits of social inclusion, community autonomy and common good but also brought concerns of an inherently weakened communal foundation and the survival of a neoliberal status quo. Research limitations/implications: The analysis is focused on strategy in Scotland only and thus can only claim to be representative of that country. However, the growth in communitarian strategies in the public sector is informed from the analysis undertaken. Practical implications: The paper provides a novel analysis of public library strategy and thus contributes to the understanding of public library practice in the modern era. Social implications: The impacts of communitarian philosophy in the public sphere are under-researched and how these changes impact the mission of libraries needs to be better understood. Originality/value: This is the first analysis to consider public library strategy from a communitarian point of view. As such, it provides novel insights into a growing area of public service development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug checking services (DCS) enable individuals to voluntarily submit a small amount of a substance for analysis, providing information about the content of the substance along with tailored harm reduction support and advice. There is some evidence suggesting that DCS may lead to behaviour and system change, with impacts for people who use drugs, staff and services, and public health structures. The evidence base is still relatively nascent, however, and several evidence gaps persist. This paper reports on qualitative interviews with forty-three participants across three Scottish cities where the implementation of community-based DCS is being planned. Participants were drawn from three groups: professional participants; people with experience of drug use; and affected family members. Findings focus on perceived harm reduction impacts of DCS delivery in Scotland, with participants highlighting the potential for drug checking to impact a number of key groups including: individual service users; harm reduction services and staff; drug market monitoring structures and networks; and wider groups of people who use and sell drugs, in shaping their interactions with the drug market. Whilst continued evaluation of individual health behaviour outcomes is crucial to building the evidence base for DCS, the findings highlight the importance of extending evaluation beyond these outcomes. This would include evaluation of processes such as: information sharing across a range of parties; engagement with harm reduction and treatment services; knowledge building; and increased drug literacy. These broader dynamics may be particularly important for evaluations of community-based DCS serving individuals at higher-risk, given the complex relationship between information provision and health behaviour change which may be mediated by mental and physical health, stigma, criminalisation and the risk environment. This paper is of international relevance and adds to existing literature on the potential impact of DCS on individuals, organisations, and public health structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine impact of undertaking an international educational program during a nurse's or midwife's pre-registration program on subsequent practice, focusing on how nurses and midwives were transformed personally through participation in such programs. Background: Participation in international educational programs has been reported to enhance nursing and midwifery students' personal and professional development, however long-term impacts remain unclear. This paper presents findings drawn from a larger grounded theory study. Study design and Methods: Charmaz's grounded theory methodology was used to elicit experiences from 13 general nurses, two mental health nurses, three midwives and four dual qualified nurse/midwives across eight different countries. Data analysis led to the creation of three categories, with this paper reporting on the category of Developing as a Person. Findings: Participation in international educational programs can be transformative for nurses and midwives with long-lasting impacts, contributing positively to their personal growth and development. Discussion: The study findings underscore significant long-term impacts of international educational programs for nurses and midwives. These outcomes highlight the importance of incorporating international experiences into healthcare education. Conclusion: By providing opportunities for healthcare professionals to engage with diverse settings and populations, organisations and educational institutions can foster the development of well-rounded and globally competent practitioners. Implications for research, policy, and practice: The study's findings hold significant implications for research, policy, and practice in healthcare education. To deepen our understandings, additional longitudinal research across diverse countries is warranted. Policymakers have an opportunity to acknowledge the positive impact of these programs on the personal growth and development of nurses and midwives, potentially leading to the integration of global competency requirements into licensure programs. In order to provide comprehensive education, educational institutions should consider the inclusion of study abroad opportunities, cultural exchanges, and global clinical placements within nursing and midwifery curricula. What is already known about the topic? • International educational programs are widely used as a way of developing nursing and midwifery students' cultural understandings. • Previous studies have reported on short-term impacts of international educational programs. What this paper adds: • Long-term impacts of participation in an international educational program on nurses and midwives are described. • Personal development and subsequent transformations occur for nurses and midwives as a result of participation in international educational programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of chronic problems with high housing costs, rent regulation has returned to the forefront of policy debate in several countries. This paper addresses three distinct questions related to rent regulation and the role of evidence. First, what are the drivers of policy change on rent regulation and what role does evidence play in shaping change? Second, what is the nature of the evidence base on rent regulation and the key messages that emerge from it? Third, how is this evidence base transmitted into policy debate? We take the example of the recent UK policy debate to examine this issue. The paper discusses the case of current policy development in Scotland to reflect upon policy drivers and the role of evidence. The paper combines insights from a recent evidence review and a decade-long policy ethnography. Not only does research indicate that evidence has played a limited role as a driver for policy change on rent regulation but the nature of the evidence base is such that there are limits on the guidance it can offer and the extent to which policy can in principle be rooted in evidence. The case of Scotland illustrates the forces at play in shaping rent regulation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is increasing recognition that sport is sociomaterial, little is known about what this means for an analysis of coaching practice. This paper develops a cartography of coaching based on an actor–network theory ethnography of two volunteer football coaches' practices in Scotland. A sociomaterial analysis generates anecdotes that are reordered into five parts: (a) moving from the eleven-a-side game toward a field of practice, (b) delegation, (c) quasi-object, (d) interruptions, and (e) manufacturing. Each part is accompanied with an analytical move inspired by Latourian actor–network theory. Coaching is conceptualized as a field of practice resting on three propositions. The first proposition is that coaches intervene by fabricating passages in practices which are always under construction. The second proposition is that materials and materiality shape practices in ways which can make players more, or less, disciplined. And the third proposition is for a local and situated sociomaterial competence where nonhumans are matters of concern. Coaching with Latour paves the way for a new space in the sociology of sport for studies dedicated to the sociomateriality of sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study in Scotland, United Kingdom of prioritizing protection of children from secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) in a private space where smoke-free public places are enforced. It discusses the difficulty of political acceptability in enforcing the issue and the intervention over parental autonomy to smoke in their own home. The article also reports on the findings based on the study used called Reducing Families' Exposure to Secondhand Smoke (REFRESH) project.

This article develops 'street-level bureaucracy' theory to conceptualise how policy implementation within urban design governance is shared among actors whose role transcends sectoral responsibilities and motivations. It presents case study research with a Scottish local authority which has made a strategic investment in a placemaking policy agenda, including the creation of an influential design review panel of volunteer experts which exemplifies the wider embrace of private capacity within public governance. The paper identifies the distinctive role of design review panel members in street-level implementation, and shows how their discretion is shaped simultaneously by public and private interests. It concludes that understanding and utilising these micro-level processes provides opportunities for conceptualising policy implementation within a neoliberalising urban governance context, and for addressing the implementation gap between the aims of public urban design policy and the realities of delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Person-centred healthcare focuses on placing the beliefs and values of service users at the centre of decision-making and creating the context for practitioners to do this effectively. Measuring the outcomes arising from person-centred practices is complex and challenging and often adopts multiple perspectives and approaches. Few measurement frameworks are grounded in an explicit person-centred theoretical framework. Aims: In the study reported in this paper, the aim was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure the experience of person-centred care by service users (patients)–The Person-centred Practice Inventory-Care (PCPI-C). Methods: Based on the 'person-centred processes' construct of an established Person-centred Practice Framework (PCPF), a service user instrument was developed to complement existing instruments informed by the same theoretical framework–the PCPF. An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was used to construct and test the instrument, working with international partners and service users in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia and Austria. A three-phase approach was adopted to the development and testing of the PCPI-C: Phase 1 –Item Selection: following an iterative process a list of 20 items were agreed upon by the research team for use in phase 2 of the project; Phase 2 –Instrument Development and Refinement: Development of the PCPI-C was undertaken through two stages. Stage 1 involved three sequential rounds of data collection using focus groups in Scotland, Australia and Northern Ireland; Stage 2 involved distributing the instrument to members of a global community of practice for person-centred practice for review and feedback, as well as refinement and translation through one: one interviews in Austria. Phase 3: Testing Structural Validity of the PCPI-C: A sample of 452 participants participated in this phase of the study. Service users participating in existing cancer research in the UK, Malta, Poland and Portugal, as well as care homes research in Austria completed the draft PCPI-C. Data were collected over a 14month period (January 2021-March 2022). Descriptive and measures of dispersion statistics were generated for all items to help inform subsequent analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using maximum likelihood robust extraction testing of the 5-factor model of the PCPI-C. Results: The testing of the PCPI-C resulted in a final 18 item instrument. The results demonstrate that the PCPI-C is a psychometrically sound instrument, supporting a five-factor model that examines the service user's perspective of what constitutes person-centred care. Conclusion and implications: This new instrument is generic in nature and so can be used to evaluate how person-centredness is perceived by service users in different healthcare contexts and at different levels of an organisation. Thus, it brings a service user perspective to an organisation-wide evaluation framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 1940, from somewhere in Scotland, a radio station named Radio Caledonia began to broadcast Scottish nationalist, anti-government and anti-war propaganda to Britain, on behalf of an organisation called the Scottish Peace Front. Its objective was to bring about Scotland's exit from the war, an end to the capitalist system, and the creation of an independent, socialist Scotland. The speaker and scriptwriter behind Radio Caledonia was Donald Grant, a Scot, since dubbed Scotland's Lord Haw-Haw. But Radio Caledonia was only superficially a Scottish nationalist station. In reality, the Scottish Peace Front was an entirely fictitious group, and Radio Caledonia's programmes were made in and broadcast from Berlin under the direction of Joseph Goebbels, as one element of his propaganda campaign against Britain. Radio Caledonia, like other similar 'secret stations' commissioned by Goebbels, was conceived of by the Nazi Propaganda Ministry, and its broadcasts written and produced by British renegades. This paper looks at Grant's background and political beliefs, the Nazi propaganda organisation within which he worked in Berlin, and the broadcast output of Radio Caledonia. It concludes that far from being an authentically nationalist or socialist enterprise, Radio Caledonia was devised by German Nazis and British fascists as a tool to achieve their shared aim of bringing about an end to Britain's involvement in the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, poorly preserved buildings and occupation deposits often represent the primary evidence for archaeological structures and settlements. Integrated geoarchaeological methods, such as soil chemistry and micromorphology, can be used to maximise the information obtained from such deposits regarding site preservation and the use of space. However, archaeologists are often reluctant to apply these methods if they suspect that preservation is poor or stratigraphy is not visible in the field. To assess the role that geoarchaeology can play in the interpretation of fragmented and poorly preserved structures, this paper presents the results of two case studies in which multiple geoarchaeological methods (microrefuse analysis, pH, electrical conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, loss‐on‐ignition, portable XRF and micromorphology) were applied to poorly preserved occupation deposits and fragmented buildings in early medieval coastal settlements in northeast Scotland. Micromorphology proved to be fundamental for recognising and understanding the composition of occupation deposits that had formerly been floor surfaces. It also aided interpretations for the use of space and maintenance practices and improved an understanding of the post‐depositional processes that had affected stratigraphic visibility at the macroscale. When subjected to principal component analysis, the geochemical, magnetic and microrefuse data were able to provide new details about activity areas, and successfully identified and filtered out the effects of post‐medieval contamination. Most significantly, the integrated approach demonstrates that fragmented buildings and poorly preserved occupation surfaces can retain surviving characteristics of the use of space, even if the floor surfaces were not preserved well enough to be clearly defined in the field or in thin section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 2022/23 influenza season in the United Kingdom saw the return of influenza to prepandemic levels following two seasons with low influenza activity. The early season was dominated by A(H3N2), with cocirculation of A(H1N1), reaching a peak late December 2022, while influenza B circulated at low levels during the latter part of the season. From September to March 2022/23, influenza vaccines were offered, free of charge, to all aged 2–13 (and 14–15 in Scotland and Wales), adults up to 49 years of age with clinical risk conditions and adults aged 50 and above across the mainland United Kingdom. Methods: End‐of‐season adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates against sentinel primary‐care attendance for influenza‐like illness, where influenza infection was laboratory confirmed, were calculated using the test negative design, adjusting for potential confounders. Methods: Results In the mainland United Kingdom, end‐of‐season VE against all laboratory‐confirmed influenza for all those > 65 years of age, most of whom received adjuvanted quadrivalent vaccines, was 30% (95% CI: −6% to 54%). VE for those aged 18–64, who largely received cell‐based vaccines, was 47% (95% CI: 37%–56%). Overall VE for 2–17 year olds, predominantly receiving live attenuated vaccines, was 66% (95% CI: 53%–76%). Conclusion: The paper provides evidence of moderate influenza VE in 2022/23. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the spatial attributes in the hospital ward environment and their impact on medical students' learning and experience of the clinical workplace. An ethnographic study was conducted in a Scottish teaching hospital, combining observations and interviews over a period of 10 months. Two teaching wards served as the field-sites where approximately 120 h of non-participant observations took place sequentially. In addition, 34 individual interviews were conducted with identified key informants that included medical students, junior doctors, postgraduate trainees, consultant supervisors, ward nurses and hospital pharmacist. A combination of Actor-network Theory (ANT) and Social cognitive theory (SCT) was applied to analyse data pertaining to spatial attributes and their relevance to clinical teaching and learning. Analysis of the observational and interview data led to generation of the following themes: spatial attributes in the clinical workplace can enable or constrain teaching and learning opportunities, inadequate spaces impact students' and junior doctors' sense of value, short clinical rotations influence a sense of ownership of doctors' spaces, and contested nature of space in the clinical environment. Several illustrations of the field-sites help to contextualise the themes and aid in understanding the participants' experiences and perceptions. Our findings suggest a complex entanglement of space with medical students learning and wellbeing in the clinical workplace. Provision of suitable spaces needs to be a core consideration to realise the full potential of work-based learning in medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the 10 major topics related to geodiversity that have emerged since the concept was first introduced in 1993, 30 years ago. After a short introduction, each of the 10 topics is then illustrated by a relevant case study. The 10 topics (italics) and their case studies (bold) are as follows: 1. Celebrating, International Geodiversity Day; 2. Measurement/Assessment, Potential role of remote sensing; 3. Natural Capital and Geosystem Services, Coastal geosystem services; 4. Biodiversity, Mangue de Pedra, Brazil; 5. Geomaterials, The circular economy; 6. Geotourism, World's top geotourism sites?; 7. Geoheritage, Landscape restoration; 8. National Geoconservation, Trump golf course and an SSSI, Scotland; 9. World Heritage Sites and Global Geoparks, Azores Global Geopark, Portugal; 10. Sustainability, Xitle Volcano, Mexico City. It is concluded that, given the way in which geodiversity has developed as a concept, leading to new insights and avenues of research and advancing our understanding of the world since its first use, it clearly now constitutes a significant, geoscientific paradigm. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Geodiversity for science and society'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to examine Scottish politics in the decade or so following the Second World War. The objective is to uncover the texture of Scottish politics in a period that has been characterised rather simplistically. Much of the evidence for the paper is drawn from the Scottish popular press, most notably newspapers such as the Bulletin, which was a Glasgow publication with a unionist outlook, motivated by a concern to keep Scottish issues to the fore and to resist centralisation. The article will examine the way in which interpretations of this period in Scottish politics, as being one dominated by a unionism that was common to the main parties, serve to flatten what was an interesting and contested landscape. There is a considerable literature on this period in British historiography that engages in a debate about the value of the idea of 'consensus' in British politics. The apparent consensus over the Union hid a range of important debates about the way in which the Union ought to operate that were of such an extent as to bring the idea of a unionist consensus into question. Given that the Scottish National Party was such a marginal force in Scottish politics in this period, it seems more sensible to focus on the debates about the meaning of the Union rather than to adopt an existential focus that was simply not present in day-to-day political debate in the decade following the Second World War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scottish independence is a matter for debate, not only in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, but also in the Scottish diaspora. Their views have rarely been sought, yet they will have a view on the constitutional future of their homeland. This paper draws on research on attitudes to independence within the diaspora, and concludes that individuals in North America generally favour independence more than those in England. But attitudes are changing, partly because of Brexit, and partly related to the UK Conservative government, which is seen as not reflecting Scottish views and values. Independence is now considered more positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Press and the People: Cheap Print & Society in Scotland, 1500-1785" is a comprehensive survey of cheap print and popular literature in early modern Scotland. The book explores the relationship between increased book production and circulation, mass communication, and popular culture. It examines the emergence of a literate society in Scotland and the role of cheap prints in promoting literacy. The book also highlights the contributions of women printers and the importance of caddies and paper criers in sustaining the book trade. Overall, this book provides valuable insights into the history of cheap print in Scotland and its impact on society. [Extracted from the article]

Bridge aerodynamic studies are essential in ensuring the safety and acceptable performance of long-span bridges vulnerable to the effects of cross-winds. Aerodynamic studies were traditionally carried out in wind tunnel facilities, but there are now greater opportunities for using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. Few three-dimensional (3D) aerodynamic simulations of lightweight vehicles on bridges exist, but limited validation and verification work has been carried out. In the study reported in this paper, 3D CFD models were developed for Queensferry Crossing – a cable-stayed bridge in Scotland – containing wind shields and sample vehicles. The models considered the wind effects from a range of yaw wind angles and subsequently determined the aerodynamic coefficients of vehicles. The models were verified by means of a mesh sensitivity study, a domain sensitivity study and comparisons with wind tunnel tests. The models were then validated using the same modelling process but with a different type of wind shield and again comparing the results with wind tunnel test data for the same configuration. The results showed that CFD modelling can determine aerodynamic coefficients to a level of accuracy similar to that of wind tunnel tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]