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People with learning disabilities are living longer. Older people with learning disabilities should be included in policies and plans that are for all older people. National plans and policies for older people often do not say anything about older people with learning disabilities, and it is hard to know whether older people with learning disabilities are benefiting. People who plan services locally often do not have good information on older people with learning disabilities. Using the Equalities Act 2010 could help people who plan services and write policy to think about older people with learning disabilities but this is not happening at the moment. People who work with older people with learning disabilities should be aware of policy for all older people, so that older people with learning disabilities do not miss out. This paper seeks to explore the opportunities and challenges generated by current policy, guidance and legislation in England relating to older people, in terms of the practical implications for older people with learning disabilities. Using the broad themes housing, employment, social inclusion and isolation, care and support, and promoting better health and well-being, this paper discusses potential practical opportunities and concerns for older people with learning disabilities arising from policy and legislation such as current initiatives regarding integration, personalisation and the dementia policy. Consideration is given to the implications of changing policy and practice for both current and future generations of people with a learning disability as they reach older age. This discussion paper concludes that whilst there is potential for older people with a learning disability to benefit from policy and practice aimed at improving the lives of older people generally, the tendency for policy to be targeted at specific groups without adequately considering the diversity of those groups often leaves those with a learning disability at the margins of being able to make the most of changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the breeding of Firecrests in the New Forest, Hampshire where it was first recorded in 1962. It states that New Forest has become a stronghold for the species in Great Britain and numbers continue to rise significantly. It elaborates on the discovery of 270 Firecrest territories, a third or more of which is accounted for by New Forest.

In this article I begin by discussing the persistent problem of relations between educational inequality and the attainment gap in schools. Because benefits accruing from an education are substantial, the 'gap' leads to large disparities in the quality of life many young people can expect to experience in the future. Curriculum knowledge has been a focus for debate in England in relation to educational equality for over 40 years. Given the contestation surrounding views about curriculum knowledge and equality I consider the thinking of two philosophers, Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas, and their work on justice, to trouble the curriculum framework and discourse of knowledge promoted through the policy text of The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper (2010) and later associated policy reforms to the General Certificate of Secondary Education ( GCSE) curriculum in England. The Schools White Paper aims to make the curriculum more challenging to students by introducing tight controls in terms of the assessment framework and curriculum knowledge. I argue that, when considered through Derrida's perspective on language and meaning and Levinas' view on the ethical responsibility for the other, the reforms present obstacles to the search for a just curriculum. I look to the work of Sharon Todd and Paul Standish for a re-imagination of curriculum as or through relations in the light of Derrida's and Levinas' philosophies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that reforms of higher education finance for undergraduates in England introduced by the Blair government in 2006 provided a progressive strategy for achieving the central objectives of higher education of quality (better), access (wider) and size (larger). Reforms in 2012 are a not a strategy but a collection of ad hoc arrangements. They include the good (a higher fees cap, a higher interest rate on student loans, better information and improved support for part-time study), the bad (abolishing most taxpayer support for teaching in the arts and humanities and the social sciences, and raising excessively the threshold at which loan repayments start) and the unspeakable (abolishing Education Maintenance Allowances and AimHigher). The reforms are fiscally costly and hence perpetuate the central problem of capped student numbers, and will not stand the test of time. The concluding section outlines the next White Paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the limited exception introduced by statute in 1974, the principle that truth is and ought to be a complete defence to all actions in defamation is typically regarded as self-evident in modern English law. The fact that England stands here against not only the whole of the civilian tradition but also a number of common-law jurisdictions suggests, however, that it is not. This paper, after surveying the history of the principle in English law and the debates that it has spurred in the past, argues that English law is right on this question, but needs to understand more cogently why. This, in turn, requires an examination of the interests protected by the cause of action. It is only if we accept that it is, and is solely, reputation founded in character that the defence of veritas will be secured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of the 'hostile environment' on racialised migrant women's experiences of pregnancy and childbirth in England, arguing that the 'hostile environment' functions as a technology of 'stratified reproduction.' First coined by Shellee Colen, the concept of stratified reproduction describes the dynamic by which some individuals and groups may be supported in their reproductive activities, while others are disempowered and discouraged. This paper locates the stratified reproduction produced by the 'hostile environment' as intertwined with wider gendered and racialised discourses around British citizenship which have been 'designed to fail' racialised residents of the UK. Drawing on interviews with racialised migrant mothers in the north of England, this paper analyses how the proliferation and intensification of immigration controls interacts with gender, race, class, and other social regimes to differentially allocate the resources necessary for a safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and how this is experienced materially by pregnant migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to encourage re-reading and re-evaluation of a series of educational polemics published in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, the Black Papers. These works proposed, for the most part, avowedly conservative views on education: condemning so-called "progressive" teaching methods and the re-organisation of secondary schools in the UK (especially England) into non-selective comprehensives. It is argued, however, that much said and written about the Black Papers since has concentrated only on selected "high profile" contributors, to the neglect of other contributors, often anonymous, whose comments were sometimes more measured/thoughtful. Design/methodology/approach - The work proceeds first by re-visiting the facts surrounding the writing of the Black Papers and their critical reception. It then analyses the nature of the contributors and describes selected essays not usually referred to when the Black Papers are discussed by historians and others. Findings - The work finds that the Black Papers are often infuriatingly and unhelpful polemical in nature but that much written about them since has concentrated only on selected contributors, ignoring others who were more measured. Originality/value - The work is perhaps the first critical re-reading of the Black Papers in any depth in several decades. It does not simply dismiss them as hysterical rants by ill-informed authors and suggests that they re-pay careful attention, despite their often polemical nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking its cue from recent government advice on design, and referring back to previously published work on the history of design control, this paper reviews the state of urban design in contemporary planning practice in England. It focuses primarily upon more recent development since 1985 through the Conservatives' Quality Initiatives, New Labour's Urban Renaissance, and an unprecedented flow of design advice (from CABE). It asks a rhetorical question: is 'good design indivisible from good planning' as government policy now proclaims, or does it remain largely invisible by virtue of a potent mix of political short-termism, economic imperatives and low skill levels. The paper reflects on the evolution of design control practices from obsession with elevations through to broader notions of urban design and the public realm, place making and now the pursuit of sustainable urban forms. It reflects on the relatively new consensus about appropriate urban design principles and practices, and the widening scope of government advice. However, it questions whether the majority of local councils are adequately committed to positive planning and proactive development management, and whether local planning authorities have the resources, skills and policy/guidance frameworks to deliver the high-quality, sustainable urban design and place making to which central government now aspires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective conservation decisions rely on accurate survey data, but methods can be resource‐intensive and risk false negative results. Presence of the threatened hazel dormouse (England, UK) is typically confirmed by looking for its nest in survey tubes, over a 6‐month period. As an alternative, environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys have proven benefits in efficiency and accuracy for other taxa, but generally rely on the extraction and amplification of DNA from water, soil or sediment, which are not yet dependable samples for rare terrestrial mammals like the hazel dormouse.At a known occupancy site, paper‐lined survey tubes were used to capture a DNA sample. Like other species of rodent, the hazel dormouse excretes urine freely, and this was highlighted by ultraviolet torch, swabbed from the paper, extracted and hazel dormouse eDNA amplified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).Hazel dormouse presence was confirmed in this way in three out of 50 tubes within 8 days. Detection by conventional nest survey occurred on day 63 when a hazel dormouse nest was found in a single survey tube. We calculate that amplification of eDNA left behind in tubes increased survey efficiency here at least 12‐fold.Synthesis and applications. In this study we demonstrate that eDNA swabbed from a clean substrate placed in survey apparatus can significantly hasten the detection of a rare species. This method has the potential to broaden the application of eDNA to other terrestrial vertebrates, including surveys at large spatiotemporal scales. Beyond presence/absence, the non‐invasive DNA sample could also offer insights into sex ratio, abundance, behaviour and population genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One proposed strategy to overcome labour shortages in male-dominated jobs is to attract female workers. This has been the case for lorry driving in the UK. These efforts, however, often work to reproduce binary gendered stereotypes, or seek to include women without questioning how working conditions and everyday embodied work itself constructs gender roles and difference and is differentially experienced. In this paper, we highlight differentiated lorry driving bodies at work, centring lorries as an essential part of global logistical systems. Empirically drawing from interviews and mobile ethnographies with freight drivers in England, we tell a series of composite stories which uncover gendered ideals of worker-bodies, and embodied experiences of mobilities. With the gendered, embodied life's work of lorry driving remaining largely invisible and poorly understood, we illustrate the complex intersections between places, people, materialities and forms of work. Through this paper, we show how (gendered) narratives and bodily difference are both reproduced and disrupted through lorry driving work. We argue that only through recognising – and destabilising - the gendered re/production of mobile work will other logistical futures be made possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a national survey of over 3400 teachers across all phases of education in England, 10 weeks into school closure. In this paper we report on the teachers' experiences and their testimonies of the effects of the lockdown on their wellbeing as they navigate the situation, trying to cope with teaching and adjusting to the use of new technology to deliver lessons in the confines of their home. We present their voices as they related their experiences and emotions in real time as the event unfolded. Teachers reported an increased workload with a proportionately large amount of time spent on administrative duties and planning, but less on actual teaching. On average, these teachers spent 15 h a week marking during the lockdown. Under half of the respondents said they felt happy and cheerful often, while only 17% said they did not feel this way often. Almost all teachers said they felt that what they were doing was important and worthwhile. The most common emotions expressed by teachers were fear, isolation, neglect, anxiety, and confusion. The inconsistency and lack of clarity of government guidelines added to teachers' anxiety. The negative media portrayal of teachers did not help. The majority of teachers reported little previous experience in online teaching and only a quarter were confident in using edtech to deliver remote teaching. Only a third of teachers said they were adequately supported for online teaching. This has implications for future teacher development and initial teacher training. However, there were equally numerous positive experiences reported by teachers. Active support from parents and consistent school-home communication were seen as important in ensuring students' continued engagement with learning. These lessons are beneficial in supporting the long-term sick and school refusers post-lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to critically examine the effects of COVID-19 social discourses and policy decisions specifically on older adult volunteers in the UK, comparing the responses and their effects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, providing perspectives on effects of policy changes designed to reduce risk of infection as a result of COVID-19, specifically on volunteer involvement of and for older adults, and understand, from the perspectives of volunteer managers, how COVID-19 restrictions had impacted older people's volunteering and situating this within statutory public health policies. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a critical discourse approach to explore, compare and contrast accounts of volunteering of and for older people in policy, and then compare the discourses within policy documents with the discourses in personal accounts of volunteering in health and social care settings in the four nations of the UK. This paper is co-produced in collaboration with co-authors who have direct experience with volunteer involvement responses and their impact on older people. Findings: The prevailing overall policy approach during the pandemic was that risk of morbidity and mortality to older people was too high to permit them to participate in volunteering activities. Disenfranchising of older people, as exemplified in volunteer involvement, was remarkably uniform across the four nations of the UK. However, the authors find that despite, rather than because of policy changes, older volunteers, as part of, or with the help of, volunteer involving organisations, are taking time to think and to reconsider their involvement and are renewing their volunteer involvement with associated health benefits. Research limitations/implications: Working with participants as co-authors helps to ensure the credibility of results in that there was agreement in the themes identified and the conclusions. A limitation of this study lies in the sampling method, as a convenience sample was used and there is only representation from one organisation in each of the four nations. Originality/value: The paper combines existing knowledge about volunteer involvement of and for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits which digital technology offers to all aspects of dental practice and education. This paper provides an overview of how digital technology has enhanced clinical and administrative procedures within dental practice, including computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM), digital radiography, 3D printing, patient records, electronic patient referrals and electronic communications from dental practices. It then considers the development of teledentistry (mHealth) and its benefits in enabling distant consultations with patients, who for one reason or another are unable to visit dental practices easily. It then goes on to consider how and why digital dental distance learning materials were provided to general dental practitioners in England by the Department of Health (DoH) (England) and how they evolved. Finally, this paper considers the use of digital technology in dental education by dental schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic placed a huge strain on healthcare services around the world, including community services. Students also faced substantial disturbance to educational programmes. Student district nurses are usually employed members of staff and can be recalled to the workforce, whereas pre-registration students cannot. Aims: This paper explores the feelings and experiences of student district nurses during the first UK national lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. An interpretative phenomenological approach was taken. Method: A semi structured 1:1 interview and focus group was held via zoom in July 2020. A total of eight student district nurses, who were all registered adult nurses, took part. Data was analysed using the Braun and Clarke model to identify themes. Results: The findings related to their experience of being a community adult registered nurse on the frontline, while also being a student district nurse. Three themes were identified from the analysis: anxiety and uncertainty, management of risk and teamwork. Conclusion: This study highlights the contribution that community nurses made in the clinical response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It adds to a paucity of literature available from this clinical setting and specifically from the viewpoint of a student district nurse. There is much written on the strains on hospital care, but it should be remembered that district nursing is the service that never shuts its doors because it has reached capacity. This study found that a lack of communication and uncertainty about their future as students contributed to heightened stress and anxiety. Teamwork and camaraderie are a vital aspect of any team and one that can support resilience in times of heightened stress. A lack of face-to-face interaction can lead to team members feeling isolated. Digital technology can be used to reduce this feeling when possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England, pupils aged 16 take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations for a range of subjects. The current assessment models for GCSE include a two-tier structure for some subjects and a non-tier model for the others. The tiered subjects have a higher tier designed for high achieving pupils and a lower tier for low achieving pupils. The higher tier paper is targeted at grades A*–D (with A* the highest grade available), while the lower tier paper at grades C–G (with G the lowest grade). The UK government has proposed a comprehensive reform of GCSEs. It suggested that, with tiered papers, pupils are forced to choose between higher and lower tier papers, which will place a cap on the ambition of those entering for the lower tier. The government therefore suggests avoiding tiering in the reformed GCSEs when possible. This paper discusses the technical and equity issues with the use of tiered examinations in current GCSEs and reviews potential alternative assessment approaches for effective differentiation between pupils for the reformed GCSEs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Why you should read this article: • To understand the complexity of the needs of people with delirium superimposed on dementia • To enhance your knowledge of second-generation activity theory • To recognise the consequences of the separation of physical health and mental healthcare. Background: Delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) affects the physical, mental and cognitive well-being of the person. The separation of physical health and mental health means that the care of people with DSD is at odds with the multifaceted aetiology and presentation of the condition. There is a lack of research on DSD from a mental health perspective. Aim: To explore UK mental health nurses’ experiences of providing care for people with DSD. Method: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven mental health nurses from one NHS trust in England. Participants’ experiences were considered through the lens of second-generation activity theory. Data were analysed using framework analysis. Findings: Six themes were identified: awareness of guidance and tools; guidance or tools as ‘paper exercises’; knowing the patient; the multidisciplinary team; care burden; and mental health versus physical health. Conclusion: When providing care for people with DSD, mental health nurses use their skills in knowing patients as individuals. However, this aspect of ‘knowing’ cannot be readily translated into the use of a numerical scoring tool. An integrated approach is required to support the care of people with DSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the factors that influence domestic violence and abuse (DVA) victims to withdraw from the Criminal Justice System globally continues to be a key focus for professionals and academics working within this area. There is a dearth of extant literature examining the motivations behind victim withdrawal, particularly retraction occurring post provision of an initial statement. This paper examines the phenomenon of retraction, by thematically analysing N = 60 police retraction statements (PRS) collected by police officers in a large suburban police force in the North West of England. In examining these statements, insight can also be garnered from those victims still in an active relationship with their abusers. Findings highlight female victims' motivations for retraction and are framed around victim problem solving including: a) accepting the relationship which resulted in a discordance in proceeding with the prosecution of the abuser b) rejecting the relationship thereby rendering the prosecution as redundant c) engaging in procedural problem solving where alternative measures such as civil actions were sought to substitute a CJS prosecution and d) the effect of children where motivations were split between retracting to return to the complete family unit including the victim as the mother and retracting due to recognising the importance of the father's role without involvement from the mother. Notwithstanding limitations, this paper demonstrates that there is significant value in conducting an analysis of PRSs in furthering the understanding of why victims choose to retract at this point in their prosecution journey. The extracts from this dataset add insight and understanding into DVA female victim motivations to retract post-initial statement provision and highlight the differences within victim populations who retract their original statement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most significant episode in the assetisation of housing (underpinning its financialisation) is often understood to be the economic restructuring that took place during the 1980s – particularly deregulation of the banking sector and credit liberalisation. Research has reported on the housing 'investor subject' that emerged during this time, as an integral part of the transition towards financialised economies. This article provides new evidence about the housing consumer subject, and its place in this transition, by drilling into UK housing policy history and its discourses around the consumer relationship with housing. Using archive data from the Parliamentary and National Archives alongside interviews with key informers, we illustrate three cases of housing policy development in which the consumer demand for, and relationship with, housing is discursively reconditioned. We conclude that the housing investor subject was pursued in housing policy reform and its discourses well before the 1980s and the economic reforms commonly identified as the causes of financialisation. In addition, these discourses are found to have been reconditioned in order to align with broader macroeconomic policy concerns of the time. The article therefore provides a rare view of assetisation from within the state apparatus, revealing how housing policy and its discourses around consumption became functionally integrated within wider macroeconomic goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The growth of the UK's population together with an aging society with increasingly complex health and social care needs has placed a greater demand on statutory care services. In view of this emerging landscape, the UK Government has sought to increase its medically trained workforce in order to better respond to the demands placed on the health service. Five universities were announced as homes to new medical schools offering undergraduate places to boost the numbers of doctors training in England. The aim of this narrative review was to explore how new medical schools could improve the health outcomes of the local population and evaluate the potential contribution it may make to the local economy, workforce and to research and innovation. Methods: A narrative review was undertaken using a systematic approach for the search literature strategy. The articles were evaluated by undertaking a critical assessment evaluating the fitness of a paper for review according to results, methods used to test the hypothesis, conclusions and impact and limitations. Thematic analysis was employed to organise and summarise the findings across a heterogeneous body of literature included in the review. The analysis was developed in an inductive manner and there were not any predefined themes to guide data extraction and analysis. Results: Thirty-six articles were selected for inclusion for this narrative review. The review identified six key themes: influence of prior rural exposure, medical school environment and rural enrichment programmes, workforce, health outcomes of local populations, social accountability, economic contribution of medical schools to communities and impact on rural research. Conclusions: The studies included found a wealth of information on a wide-range of topics on the expansion of undergraduate education and its implications on the future medical workforce. It was shown that medical schools can have a positive effect on the health, social, economic and research activity of a region, but this literature tended to be heterogeneous in focus without consideration of the inter-connections between the wider societal and economic impacts arising from long-term sustainable change being brought to a region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often difficult to ascertain the durability or longevity of construction products. Two opportunities arose to examine old AAC masonry material that had been used in construction with a reasonable knowledge of the manufactured characteristics of the product. The first of these was from blocks sampled from three locations within the internal and external walls of the H+H factory in England that was being dismantled in 2013. In the second case, a partly demolished wall provided an opportunity to salvage two almost complete blocks for testing. This paper will describe the tests, and the results and compare the results with the predicted physical characteristics of the manufactured products [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the role of senior personnel within Active Partnerships as the personnel seek to strategically manage UK policy developments. This paper explores how Active Partnerships engage with the policy process within an environment characterized by systemic structural changes, mounting fiscal challenges, political uncertainty and a succession of public health concerns. Design/methodology/approach: Using the Multiple-Streams Framework (MSF), a case study approach was adopted, focusing on the perspectives of senior personnel. Semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the management and operation of five Active Partnerships across the South of England and one national stakeholder that works closely with Active Partnerships were conducted. Data were collected during the period following Andy Reed's review of the operation of Active Partnerships. The interviews were complemented by documentary analysis. Findings: Findings illustrate that while senior practitioners within Active Partnerships often behave in line with Lipsky's notion of street-level bureaucrats, by maximizing collective leverage, advocating priorities and providing a voice for local partners, the senior practitioners adopt behaviors more akin to policy entrepreneurs. In this sense, they seek to influence the policy process at critical junctures in order to promote preferred outcomes and protect sectoral interests. Originality/value: This study has explored the relationship between strategic management and the policy process in the context of the rapidly changing policy domain that frames the work of regional sports organizations known as Active Partnerships. The conceptual frame of the investigation is the concept of "policy entrepreneurship", which seeks to articulate how individuals and collectives engage in the policy process, in order to secure outcomes conducive to their objectives. This, in turn, provides a sense of context for the contemporary challenges associated with the management of sport and physical activity (PA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Through the extensive use of public media, the government of England was heavily involved in encouraging and instructing people on how to manage their life during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This model of health emergency governance replicates the practice of 'calculative technologies' and 'bio-politics' embedded in population management. Previous research on COVID-19 governance both in the United Kingdom and beyond provides varied revelations on broader 'technologies of government' and bio-politics by numerous governments. However, rarely have any studies explicitly and distinctively highlighted the unique 'calculative technologies' mobilised by governments within their bio-politically designed "technologies of government" to compel the populations to manage their lives under their COVID-19 guidance. The paper therefor examines how the UK government deployed "calculative technologies," as part of its strategies of health governance and governmentality during the first wave of COVID-19 in England. Methods: This study uses document analysis as its data collection method. Its review includes documents, press releases, social media disclosures and health guidance issued by the UK government from March to December, 2020. The data are analysed employing the Foucault's governmentality and bio-political scholarship. Results: The paper's findings reveal the UK government's use of integrated calculative technologies of self-governance in the form of risk calculations and metrices/statistics (eg, death tolls, infection rates), performance management (eg, two metre social distancing, and hand washing for twenty seconds) and discipline and control (eg, fourteen days selfisolation), in addition to a more conventional top-down, managerial decision-making process adopted in the past. By these newly initiated "calculative technologies," the government has "bio-politically" governed the behaviours and lifestyles of vulnerable community members, health workers and general public at a distance, inculcating selfmanagement and individualisation of responsibility. Conclusion: The newly adopted calculative technologies used by the UK government created a multi-faceted discourse of obligations, entitlements and scale of engagement, and facilitated directions about what people should do to protect themselves and others from the spread of the virus. Overall, the overtly and idiosyncratically used calculative technologies resemble a unique 'art of government' and produce a set of 'bio-political' interventions enforcing the populations to manage their own wellbeing and governing them at a distance during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by feminist literature on the notion of 'dwelling', this paper asks: how does the personal dimension of dwelling relate to the political discourses of housing activism. The aim of this paper is to (re-)consider the political dimensions of housing activism and research through focussing on the intimate and private experiences of 'being at home', thereby extending and pluralising housing activism as 'dwelling activism'. Methodologically, this paper 'throws together' two data sets. The first is an arts-based study on the intimate experiences of feeling at home that was conducted with 18 mental health service users in the UK. The second study interviewed 14 urban community land trust activists in England about community engagement and housing activism. A plural, disintegrative analysis offers a symbiotic reading of the close entanglement between the inward-facing personal practices of dwelling like building shelter and security, and the outward-facing more public practices of dwelling, like building relations and togetherness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'The Electoral Management of the Yorkshire Election of 1784'. In the general election of 1784 the Fitzwilliam Whig candidates for Yorkshire declined the poll the night preceding the county election and conceded victory to the pro-Pitt nominees who received organisational support from the Yorkshire Association. This paper uses the Yorkshire county election to provide a detailed case study of electoral organisation and management. It outlines the national and regional political contexts of the election and examines the political and religious prejudices of the protagonists. Furthermore, it details the costs involved and explores the logistics of bringing the enfranchised freeholders, in England's largest constituency, to poll. This paper compares the organisations set up by both sides to direct the election, demonstrating the increasingly professional approach taken by election committees towards the end of the eighteenth century. It demonstrates how in this election the experienced and near-professional committee established by the Yorkshire Association overwhelmed the amateur committee of aristocrats convened by the Earl Fitzwilliam, prompting the latter to make significant changes to his electoral organisation and electioneering strategy for future elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of this paper is to investigate what factors are associated to cardiovascular disease and what differences exists between Asians living in the UK (from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing) and the Asians living in India (from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India). Methods: Logistic regression was used to investigate how demographic and physical performance factors were associated with cardiovascular disease using data from Wave 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Wave 1 of the Longitudinal Study of Ageing in India, with the main variable of interest being country of residence, Asians in England or Asians in India. Results: A total of 83,997 participants were included in the analyses. In the primary analysis, 73,396 participants from LASI were compared to 171 Asians in ELSA. After adjusting for age, blood pressure, resting heart rate, sex, waist circumference, gait, handgrip strength and standing balance, there was a statistically significant difference for the outcome of CVD between Whites ELSA (reference) and the participants of LASI (odds ratio = 0.77; 95% confidence interval = 0.60 to 0.99). There were no significant differences in CVD between the LASI participants, Asian ELSA, and the Non-White but not Asian ELSA groups. Discussion: No difference was found between Asians that live in India compared to ethnic minorities living in England, including Asians, after adjusting for confounders, but was found between Whites in ELSA compared to LASI participants. A key limitation was the massive disparity in sample sizes between the ELSA subgroups and LASI. Further work is required where comparable sample sizes and longitudinal analyses allow trends to be identified and to investigate the factors associated with the difference in CVD between two similar ethnicities living in distinct locations. Conclusion: After adjusting for risk factors, there was no difference in CVD between localised Asians and the ethnic minorities in the UK, but there was a difference between the majority ethnicities in the respective countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a Foucauldian theorisation and an in-depth study with eight disabled student activists in England, this paper explores how persistent marginalisation and ableism in higher education has triggered a wave of activism among disabled students, who, just before the advent of the pandemic, had organised a structured movement, Disabled Students UK. We employ Foucault's ideas of the care of the self and others to discuss the formation of disabled students as activist subjects fighting discrimination in English higher education, in a moment in which the intersection between inclusive policies and austerity measures exposed the ableism rooted in academic practices. This paper promotes discussion on the nurturing relationship that exists between the individual and the community in constituting disability activism and disabled activists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wolf Rock Lighthouse is a Victorian era masonry structure located in an extreme environment facing the fiercest Atlantic storms off the southwest coast of England whose dynamic behaviour has been studied since 2016. Initially, a modal test was used to determine modal parameters; then, in 2017, a monitoring system was installed that has operated intermittently providing response data for a number of characteristic loading events. These events have included wave loads due to storms, a small UK earthquake, helicopters landing on the helideck, and the grounding of a ship on the reef. This is believed to be the most extensive experimental campaign on any structure of this type. This paper briefly describes a unique project involving the characterisation and measurement of dynamic behaviour due to different forms of dynamic loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, there are persistent and growing health inequalities both between and within countries. The U.K. Government's flagship policy for addressing inequalities is called 'Levelling Up'. One of its missions is to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy (HLE) between the healthiest and unhealthiest areas in England and to improve overall HLE by 5 years by 2035. We show that smoking is one of the major causes of health inequalities. We find a 17-year difference in HLE between local authorities, and that the number of years spent in ill health tended to be greatest in areas with the highest mortality from smoking-related disease. Our aim is to see if the 5-year target could be achieved, assuming there were drastic controls on the sale and consumption of tobacco. We show that never smokers enjoy six more years of good health at age 20 than current or ex-smokers. A complete ban on smoking would lead to a 2.5-year improvement in HLE, and also lengthen the working lives of both men and women. We conclude that while a complete tobacco ban is significant, other public health measures are needed for the full achievement of the target. The paper briefly considers wider issues and suggestions for further research and its international significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with intellectual disabilities face health disparities, including in high‐income countries such as the United Kingdom, despite publicly funded healthcare. This paper describes the healthcare system in England (a nation of the United Kingdom) for the general population, and more specifically for people with intellectual disabilities. Key legislation that impacts the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, such as the UK Equality Act 2010 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents), the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents), and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and its implementation in the United Kingdom, is discussed. The role of deinstitutionalization and the shift to living in the community for people with intellectual disabilities is also discussed. Programmes that have been implemented to address the health disparities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities are reviewed. Finally, the recent changes to healthcare organization in the UK, the COVID‐19 pandemic, and the implementation of the Valuing People white paper are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the United Kingdom reduces its CO2 emissions in order to meet its 2050 net zero greenhouse gas targets, there will be a significant evolution of the UK's energy mix. The reliance on hydrocarbons will decrease while there is predicted to be an increase in low carbon energy sources such as renewables and nuclear. In order to decarbonise and achieve the net zero emissions targets while concurrently producing enough energy to provide for national energy needs, large‐scale, low carbon energy generation projects need to be developed alongside energy storage facilities to provide flexibility within a low carbon energy supply. Robust CCUS programmes will need be developed in order to capture and store unavoidable carbon dioxide emissions. The subsurface geology of the UK provides opportunities for the development of low carbon energy generation, energy storage and CCS, and the Upper Permian Zechstein Supergroup deposited in eastern England and offshore in the Southern North Sea is a potential host for these new developments. In NE England, salt cavern gas storage sites have been developed in thick Zechstein evaporites since the mid 20th centrury. In this paper we present new isopach maps and well correlation panels which will help to outline optimal locations for the development of additional salt caverns for gas storage. A review of the Zechstein Supergroup indicates that it does not exhibit great potential for the development of CCS, due both to its complex reservoir characteristics and to difficulties with both subsurface imaging and monitoring. However thick Zechstein evaporites could provide an excellent seal for CO2 storage in the underlying Lower Permian Rotliegend Group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since at least 2012, UK housing providers (and policy makers) have introduced policies aimed at developing autonomy and independence among service users, through an agenda sometimes referred to as 'responsibilisation'. This paper considers the role that technologies play in this agenda, through an analysis of how wellbeing and independence are facilitated amongst older social housing tenants. Based on case studies of four supported housing schemes in England, the research considers the capacity to exercise agency amongst older persons, through their willingness and ability to accept technological interventions, and the role of support networks to facilitate independent living. Using the concept of modalities of agency, the research examines the impact of implementing 'low-level' assistive technologies in the home, based on the perspectives of residents and staff. The interventions studied were designed to improve social relationships, promote self-sufficiency and support self-managed care (based on the principle that the most effective projects facilitate individual agency). The research findings identified that residents responded differentially to technology, based on their levels of capability, motivation, reluctance and resistance. Whilst the study demonstrated that small technological innovations could have disproportionately positive impacts in improving wellbeing, the research demonstrates the complex nature of agency and limits of responsibility. The paper argues that responsibilisation is part of a wider neoliberal project, where choice and agency are manufactured to create an idealised notion of the autonomous actor (in this case through technology-enabled care). The article argues that a collaborative approach to service provision in which responsibility is shared, via co-managed care, is a more effective means of enhancing agency, than one which advocates a withdrawal of support (in the guise of autonomy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Co‐production with communities is increasingly seen as best practice that can improve the quality, relevance and effectiveness of research and service delivery. Despite this promising position, there remains uncertainty around definitions of co‐production and how to operationalize it. The current paper describes the development of a co‐production strategy to guide the work of the ActEarly multistakeholder preventative research programme to improve children's health in Bradford and Tower Hamlets, UK. Methods: The strategy used Appreciative Inquiry (AI), an approach following a five‐step iterative process: to define (Step 1) scope and guide progress; to discover (Step 2) key issues through seven focus groups (N = 36) and eight in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders representing community groups, and the voluntary and statutory sectors; to dream (Step 3) best practice through two workshops with AI participants to review findings; to design (Step 4) a co‐production strategy building on AI findings and to deliver (Step 5) the practical guidance in the strategy. Results: Nine principles for how to do co‐production well were identified: power should be shared; embrace a wide range of perspectives and skills; respect and value the lived experience; benefits should be for all involved parties; go to communities and do not expect them to come to you; work flexibly; avoid jargon and ensure availability of the right information; relationships should be built for the long‐term; co‐production activities should be adequately resourced. These principles were based on three underlying values of equality, reciprocity and agency. Conclusion: The empirical insights of the paper highlight the crucial importance of adequate resources and infrastructure to deliver effective co‐production. This documentation of one approach to operationalizing co‐production serves to avert any misappropriations of the term 'co‐production' by listening to service users, stakeholders and other relevant groups, to develop trust and long‐term relationships, and build on the learning that already exists amongst such groups. Patient or Public Contribution: The work was overseen by a steering group (N = 17) of individuals, both professional and members of the public with experience in undertaking co‐production, and/or with some knowledge of the context of the two ActEarly field sites, who provided regular oversight and feedback on the AI process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing shortages and construction delays characterize the current UK housing crisis, and housing need is not met. Modern methods of construction (MMC) are put forward as a solution to ensure quicker, safer, and greener delivery of new homes and are supported by the government, especially in the social housing sector. The paper explores the post-occupancy evaluation mechanisms used by housing associations delivering homes with traditional and MMC approaches. It argues that, alongside the digital and offsite transformation of housebuilding, the industry needs to reconsider the way customer feedback is collected and what purposes it serves. The paper argues that UK housebuilding in the social housing sector can benefit from re-purposing post-occupancy evaluation (POE) from only measuring customer satisfaction and detecting defects, which is currently the case, to using it to improve housing design and construction quality. This could be done by developing a systematic learning loop from residents of previous projects to the design, development, and construction teams across the housebuilding supply chain. It could particularly benefit housing associations pioneering MMC that, as long-term asset holders of developed houses, have a vested interest in improving the quality of homes and creating a better residential experience. The accumulated knowledge of such customer-centred approaches could also inform MMC technology development and help increase its uptake. However, as the paper further discusses, there are many challenges on the way to effective POE in social housing provision, including the nature of the MMC-based housebuilding supply chain and the industry's structural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') was a controversial issue in the United Kingdom that sparked national and community-led groups to organise protest mobilisations. To date, however, the social science literature has largely focussed upon general anti-fracking discourse rather than on the physical, community-led mobilisations that emerged from the frustrations of people directly affected at a local level by threats to their community. This paper develops and applies a novel conceptualisation of political opportunity structures at the nexus of the national and local levels to more fully explore the usually overlooked role of local-level structures in interaction with the national level in shaping protest. It uses protest event analysis with data derived from two key activist-specific sources. The analysis draws on data from over 1,400 protests occurring across 69 counties from 2011 to 2019. In so doing, this paper observes and accounts for variance in the form and frequency of community-led anti-fracking protest events within and between different areas of England across the life course of the protest episodes. This paper finds that trends in protest frequency and form over time correlate to shifts in opportunity structures, particularly regarding local and national-level interactions, and that this can be usefully conceptualised through a local-national-state-nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a review on the evaluations of ten initiatives specifically promoted in the National Health Service (NHS) white paper "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say," published in January 2006. An extensive mapping exercise was made to identify evaluations of the specified initiatives being conducted in England. It indicates that the rhetorical commitment to evaluation was compromised and the investment in evaluation at national and local levels was not as productive.

The article discusses postage stamps that have been issued by Britain’s Royal Mail throughout the years and examines the latest set, which commemorates the founding of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, England. This set belongs to the Action for Species series, which depicts threatened species in Great Britain. Other sets of stamps have featured evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin and England’s Queen Elizabeth II.

This paper focuses on the Colleges of Advanced Technology (CATs), specialist providers of advance science and technology which existed in England and Wales for ten years after the 1956 White Paper Technical Education. Its central argument is that recasting the CATs as broader-based universities following the 1963 Robbins Report was a significant error which attenuated the progress of science and technology, and prevented the Colleges' development as viable providers of higher education (HE) outside the university sector. This decision, it is argued, was shaped by typically English views about the relative value of different forms of learning, the nature and purpose of HE, and particular beliefs about the primacy of the university. It also conflated the general desire to increase participation in higher education with the wish to promote science and technology in particular. A bolder option, it is proposed, would have been to build the CATs up as prestigious institutes of technology, along the lines of those found in the USA and continental Europe – although this, it is recognised, would have entailed a substantial shift in the role of the state and reduced the individual and collective autonomy of HE institutions in England and Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over 180,000 people use crack cocaine in England, yet provision of smoking equipment to support safer crack use is prohibited under UK law. Pipes used for crack cocaine smoking are often homemade and/or in short supply, leading to pipe sharing and injuries from use of unsafe materials. This increases risk of viral infection and respiratory harm among a marginalised underserved population. International evaluations suggest crack pipe supply leads to sustained reductions in pipe sharing and use of homemade equipment; increased health risk awareness; improved service access; reduction in injecting and crack-related health problems. In this paper, we introduce the protocol for the NIHR-funded SIPP (Safe inhalation pipe provision) project and discuss implications for impact. Methods: The SIPP study will develop, implement and evaluate a crack smoking equipment and training intervention to be distributed through peer networks and specialist drug services in England. Study components comprise: (1) peer-network capacity building and co-production; (2) a pre- and post-intervention survey at intervention and non-equivalent control sites; (3) a mixed-method process evaluation; and (4) an economic evaluation. Participant eligibility criteria are use of crack within the past 28 days, with a survey sample of ~ 740 for each impact evaluation survey point and ~ 40 for qualitative process evaluation interviews. Our primary outcome measure is pipe sharing within the past 28 days, with secondary outcomes pertaining to use of homemade pipes, service engagement, injecting practice and acute health harms. Anticipated impact: SIPP aims to reduce crack use risk practices and associated health harms; including through increasing crack harm reduction awareness among service providers and peers. Implementation has only been possible with local police approvals. Our goal is to generate an evidence base to inform review of the legislation prohibiting crack pipe supply in the UK. This holds potential to transform harm reduction service provision and engagement nationally. Conclusion: People who smoke crack cocaine in England currently have little reason to engage with harm reduction and drug services. Little is known about this growing population. This study will provide insight into population characteristics, unmet need and the case for legislative reform. Trial registration: ISRCTN12541454 https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN12541454 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community-based volunteering supports outbreak management by extending reach into at-risk communities. This paper examines the application of a 'community champions' model in England, UK, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence pre-pandemic shows that community champion interventions tap into social networks to strengthen connections with disadvantaged communities. During the pandemic, the UK government set up a COVID community champions funding award scheme for local authorities to develop local programmes that addressed emerging inequalities. The study aim was to identify transferable learning on community engagement in the pandemic by undertaking a secondary qualitative synthesis of practice-based case studies of local COVID community champion programmes. Methods: A systematic staged approach for synthesis of practice-based case studies was used. In total, 16 COVID community champion case studies, which were written by practitioners involved in local programme implementation and published by the Local Government Association, were included. Case studies covered aims, programme development and delivery, examples of activities and a discussion of learning. Framework qualitative analysis methods were used to code and organise data prior to cross case analysis. The final stage produced an overarching thematic framework that best represented descriptive and interpretive themes. Results: The results provide an overview of common features of COVID community champion programmes and emergent learning. All local programmes aimed to reduce health inequalities by involving at-risk communities in local prevention efforts, adapting the approach to local priorities. Two levels of community engagement were volunteer mobilisation and subsequent community-based outreach activities. Elements of capacity building, such as training and creation of networks, were common. The synthesis of practice-based learning found that stronger relationships with communities were regarded as a key mechanism to support more equitable prevention strategies. Other learning themes related to champion roles, community engagement strategies and programme implementation. Conclusions: By focusing on how community champion approaches were applied by local authorities in England during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study contributes to knowledge on volunteer mobilisation as a mechanism to improve public health communication and outreach. Notwithstanding the limitations of experiential evidence, the synthesis of practice-based learning highlights potentially transferable community engagement strategies for health protection and health improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the importance of relationality and care for understanding women's alcohol use, using a theoretical framework comprising concepts from feminist ethics of care, the sociology of personal life, and feminist approaches to governmentality. A key focus is how care giving responsibilities and expectations in families appear to be particularly significant for creating or constraining possibilities for drinking practices. We draw on findings from a qualitative study about alcohol use and stress with 26 women, aged 24-67 years, in the North East of England, UK. We consider how care practices in families feature in the accounts of alcohol use by women with and without children, and how the symbolic and material aspects of social class interact with care to alter the drinking practices women engage in. The interpretation extends scholarship on women's drinking, by adopting a relational approach to identity and linking private care practices and alcohol use to social and political structures. Public health approaches for preventing or reducing heavy drinking practices are predominantly situated within biomedical or psychological paradigms. Intervention approaches to reduce women's drinking that draw on our theoretical framework could offer potential for reducing harmful alcohol use in a more meaningful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a new dataset combining the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and Understanding Society (UKHLS), this paper examines the current state of intergenerational income mobility in the UK. This extends previous evidence in several directions, with a focus on younger cohorts of individuals born between 1973 and 1992. I find evidence of considerable intergenerational persistence in the transmission of resources at the household level with an intergenerational elasticity of 0.26 and a rank coefficient of 0.30. This picture of mobility remains at the individual level and under a range of robustness tests that address traditional methodological concerns. While mobility is relatively low at the national level, I find meaningful differences in income mobility rates across the country. More generally, regions with lower income in the North of England display substantially lower levels of both relative and absolute income mobility than regions in the South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper considers the accounting and accountability practices of the UK government's response to COVID-19 for England, focussing on the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a close reading of the news media and official reports from government departments, Parliament select committees and the National Audit Office, among others, this paper frames the UK government's uses of accounting and accountability in its response to COVID-19. This is by using the categories of "apparatuses of security", Foucault's schematic of government for economising on the uses of state power. Findings: The paper shows that an important role for accounting is in the process of enabling the government to gauge the extent of the crisis and produce calculations to underpin its response, what Foucault called "normalisation". This role was unlike statistics and economics. The government relied most on monthly statistical reporting and budgeting flexibilities. By contrast, the multi-year Spending Review and financial reporting were not timely enough. That said, financial reporting fed into financial sustainability projections and enabled audit that could provide potential accountability regarding regularity, probity, value for money and fairness. The authors' findings suggest that, conceptually, accountability should be added to the object–subject element of Foucault's apparatuses of security because of its significance for governments' ability to pursue crisis objectives that require popular assent. Practical implications: In view of the ongoing uncertainty, with the crisis extending over longer budget and financial reporting periods, a Spending Review is becoming ever more necessary for better planning, without limiting, however, the budget flexibilities that have proven so useful for rapid government responses. Moreover, the government should continue its accounting reforms post COVID-19 so that improved accountability and audit can contribute to enhanced future financial resilience. Originality/value: This is the first paper to apply Foucault's notion of apparatuses of security to an analysis of government accounting and accountability practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of dyslexia identification has increased significantly over the last two decades. Yet there is debate over whether there are distinct biological and cognitive differences between those with literacy difficulties and the subgroup of people identified as dyslexic. This is the first paper that provides evidence for this ongoing debate by investigating the socio-demographic factors, outside biology and cognition, that predict whether a child is identified as dyslexic in the UK. Using secondary data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study, this paper examines the socio-demographic factors that predict whether a child's teacher identifies them as dyslexic at age 11. Gender, season of birth, socio-economic class and parental income are found to be significant predictors of the dyslexia label. Therefore, factors seemingly unrelated to the clinical aspects of dyslexia influence whether a child is identified as dyslexic in England and Wales. This suggests that label may not be evenly distributed across a population; furthermore, it may also indicate that resources for support may not be fairly allocated. The findings further support the argument that a 'dyslexic sub-group' within poor readers is created due to the impact of environmental factors. The results from this national-scale study thus questions the reliability, validity and moral integrity of the allocation of the dyslexia label across current education systems in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the spaces, materiality, and practices of (in)formal education and citizenship bound up in the educational cultures of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) in 1930s England. Founded in 1926, the CPRE aimed to preserve rural amenities through concerted action, by working through their constituent societies as a centre for furnishing or obtaining advice and information, and importantly, by educating public opinion. While much work has examined inter‐war preservationism and the CPRE's focus on planning legislation and design, less attention has been paid to the CPRE's cultures of education for children and young people. Drawing on archival research, this paper considers two educational topics, namely, nature study and school design, and makes three key contributions to the geographies of education. First, that the CPRE mobilised the notion of amenity to provide an experiential and intuitive education in preservationism: amenity was both education and educator. Second, that this education was linked to notions of (future) citizenship, hope, and (future) preservationism, becoming an education that would remain with the child throughout their life. Third, this article explores the CPRE's authority, revealing the ways in which it was often complex and precarious, as well as the ways in which the Council drew on other forms of authoritative identities, spaces, and structures. In so doing, this paper contributes to ongoing academic debates on the complex and fluid boundaries of (in)formal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of estate archives in the UK are held in private hands, owned by the family that created them, and preserved at their expense. They are often stored in a historic property attached to the landed estate. These archives document the history of the family and estate that they belong to; modern records often continue to be transferred to the archives, documenting the current activities of the estate and associated businesses. This article discusses the ways in which an estate archive can contribute towards the financial success of a modern landed estate, through business support (in the form of records management), or by generating income through commercial activities in the archives itself. Hatfield House is used as a case study to illustrate how an archival collection (the Cecil Papers) can be used to provide an income to help to offset the costs of managing and preserving these important historic collections. The article argues that an archive in a historic house must engage with the commercial nature of the organisation within which it sits to remain viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the four UK jurisdictions, there are distinct disparities in exclusion rates of school students. Northern Ireland, alongside Scotland and Wales, has demonstrated over time, lower rates of permanent exclusions and temporary exclusions compared with England. This paper examines these disparities from the perspectives of representatives from various system-level educational bodies and third sector organisations representing children and families who experienced the exclusion process. The paper will also present policy and legal frameworks associated with exclusion in Northern Ireland. We interviewed 9 stakeholders, associated with practices of school exclusion in Northern Ireland, from a range of system-level education bodies and advocacy groups. Findings include positive strategies perceived to keep exclusion levels low, types of obstacles or resistance to anti-exclusion policy, participants' perspectives on unofficial exclusion practice, and perspectives on official exclusion data. What emerges from interviews is a series of tensions between implementing a child-centred approach and diminishing support services and resources. We conclude that those working within the Northern Ireland education system, are committed to an inclusive approach. However, the development and implementation of effective supporting frameworks take time and consultation, and there is evidence of tension between the perceptions of those working at a system-level and those working in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport has crept up the political wish list in recent years, with growing concern over pollution (health) and congestion (economy). In July 1998, the Government published its transport White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone," in an atmosphere of high expectations. The White Paper ranged widely over problems in the national transport system, set out many proposals, and received a widespread welcome as a landmark document. But despite some welcome new steps, the Government has also missed some key opportunities. The government is spelling out policy in more detail or inviting views on consultation, as a basis of implementing policies. Devolved governance is being brought in for Scotland and Wales, and more powers given for regional development in England: all have specific new responsibilities for transport strategy. A comprehensive national information system for public transport will be established by 2000. The new Commission for Integrated Transport will advise on transport integration, set targets and monitor progress.

Watermills have been an essential source of mechanical power for over two millennia. Their careful siting often took into account local hydrology, topography, and economic demand, attesting to the important place they held in premodern and early modern societies. This paper highlights the significance of Paul Bishop's work on mills over the last 20 years, which revealed that numerous historical watermills along Scottish rivers were closely located near overly steep stretches of river to maximize waterpower and minimize cost. Termed 'knickpoints', many of these steep erosional features formed thousands of years ago during and after melting of the British–Irish Ice Sheet. Post-glacial isostatic rebound caused rivers to erode into bedrock at rates set by river catchment size and sediment availability. Although bedrock knickpoints along the Scottish coast are relatively stable over human timescales (<103 years), knickpoints generated by milling in England have been invoked as potential hazards due to their potential to migrate over similar timescales. Bishop's observations on the colocation of knickpoints and watermills encouraged a more comprehensive investigation of the relationship between natural and human systems over the last 250 years and invited re-evaluation of prevailing narratives for the history of water technology and patterns of water-powered industrialization in Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]