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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]

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]

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]

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]

There has been a debate over many decades concerning the benefits of lifelong learning that have been expressed both in economic and non-economic terms, the latter often expressed in terms of contributions to health and well-being, and to civic solidarity. The extent to which these benefits can be evidenced however remains somewhat elusive and at best mixed. In this paper, I trace the ways in which lifelong learning has emerged in policy discourse in the UK since the 1980s, the arguments and evidence for its benefits and the means by which it has been supported and implemented. In particular, the paper is concerned with the role of the higher education sector in the UK with a particular focus on Scotland. [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]

Aims Recent UK legislation allows dental therapists or jointly-qualified dental hygienist-therapists to work in the general dental service. This study aimed to investigate the extent of dentists' knowledge of the clinical remit of jointly qualified hygienist-therapists, their willingness to consider employing such a professional, and factors associated with these two measures.Materials and methods A postal questionnaire was sent to 616 NHS-registered dentists in South-East Scotland. Analysis and classification of responses to open-ended questions used standard non-parametric statistical tests and quantitative techniques.Results Following two mailings, a 50% (n = 310) response rate was obtained. A total of 65% of dentists worked in a practice employing a dental hygienist, while only 2% employed a dental therapist. Hygienists tended to work in larger practices. Dentists' knowledge of the clinical remit of the dually-qualified hygienist-therapist was found to be limited, reflecting a restricted and inaccurate view of the professional remit of a hygienist-therapist. The majority (64%) said they would consider employing a hygienist-therapist in their practice, rising to 72% amongst dentists already working with a hygienist. Reasons given by dentists who were negative about this prospect were sought. Those who worked with a hygienist tended to refer to lack of physical space, whilst those who did not tended to cite reservations on clinical skills, competence and responsibilities, or on the costs involved.Conclusions This study identified considerable ignorance and negativity among dentists about the nature and clinical remit of this group of professionals. Dually-qualified hygienist-therapists will be in a position to treat much of the routine disease that exists within the population, and dentists may benefit from education in relation to the substantial contribution these individuals could potentially make to patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper explores how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion in the context of UK rural communities. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders that operate nationally in government departments, government funded organisations and third sector organisations that provided a policy-level perspective on digital inclusion initiative provision across England, Scotland and Wales. Activity theory (AT) was utilised as a theoretical framework, where a variety of factors–tools, rules, community, division of labour and contradictions–were found to have an influence on digital inclusion initiative provision. Findings: Digital inclusion initiative provision in UK rural communities is organised through the multi-stakeholder involvement of national organisations, and collaboration with intermediary organisations to provide digital skills training and support. The process is fraught with difficulties and contradictions, limited knowledge sharing; reduced or poor-quality connectivity; lack of funding; lack of local resources; assumptions that organisations will indeed collaborate and assumptions that intermediary organisations have staff with the necessary skills and confidence to provide digital skills training and support within the rural context. Research limitations/implications: This study highlights the benefit of using AT as a lens to develop a nuanced understanding of how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion. Practical implications: This study can inform policy decisions on digital inclusion initiative provision suitable for rural communities. Originality/value: The contribution of this paper provides new insights into the understanding of how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion and the provision of digital inclusion initiatives; it builds on the use of AT to help unpick the complexity of digital inclusion initiative provision as a phenomenon; it reveals contradictions in relation to trust, and the need for knowledge sharing mechanisms to span and align different interpretations of digital inclusion across the policy-level; and reveals an extension of AT demonstrated through the "granularity of the subject" which enables the multi-actor involvement of the stakeholders involved in digital inclusion at policy-level to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out to de-mystify the effects of the Barnett Formula – the mechanism which has delivered the bulk of the funding for Scottish domestic services over the past forty years. There has always been considerable ambiguity about the effects of the formula: with some holding that it is a mechanism which would eventually deliver converging levels of per capita spending in the different countries of the UK: while others held that it protected expenditure differentials. The paper explains why, partly because of the effects of relative population change, both views were correct at different times in the period up to 2015. In particular, at times of austerity, the formula operated to protect relative per capita spending levels in Scotland. Largely by accident, the Barnett Formula delivered some of the features expected in a properly functioning monetary union. After 2015, however, with the introduction of the post referendum fiscal settlement, the position is quite different. While Barnett still plays a part, the overall effect of the new funding system is to place Scotland in a vulnerable position, where it is at much greater risk of falling into a cycle of economic decline relative to the rest of the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on research publications from the department of general practice at Glasgow University in Scotland. Importance of publications in learning; Use of proper key words for computer reference systems; Tips to help contributors of medical journals.

Simple Summary: Existing cross-cultural research on animal welfare often overlooks the way that policy and law are not the exclusive domain of central government. This can result in an over-simplification or misrepresentation of the true situation. The political culture and institutional arrangements for governing the modern state are more complex than a "one-size-fits-all" approach. It is argued that cross-cultural research needs to give greater attention to differences within as well as between unitary states. Specifically, it needs to examine developments in constituent nations and territories. Here we illustrate this by drawing on new research in the United Kingdom, and examine how 'devolution'—or decentralized government for Wales and Scotland—is providing contrasting opportunities for NGOs, campaigners, and the public to lobby to improve animal welfare policy based on local practices, beliefs, and demands (collectively known as the "political culture"). Our findings show how this is important because it results in contrasting animal welfare policies and laws in the constituent nations of the UK. It is argued that extant cross-cultural research on animal welfare often overlooks or gives insufficient attention to new governance theory, civil society, politics, and the realities of devolved or (quasi-)federal, multi-level governance in the modern state. This paper synthesizes relevant social theory and draws on new empirical findings of civil society accounts of campaigning on animal welfare policies and law in the United Kingdom. It is presented as a corrective to arguably reductive, earlier unitary state-based analyses. Our core, evidence-based argument is that cognizance of civil society activism and the contrasting institutional governance structures and political cultures of constituent nations in unitary states—such as the UK—are providing opportunities for the territorialization of legally grounded animal welfare regimes, and culturally distinctive practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many mature oil fields in the North Sea. One of them is the Clair Oil Field, located on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) in Scotland. This oil field is unique because of the results of failure studies of several fluid injections, constituting secondary and tertiary oil recovery techniques, on increasing oil production. Only waterflooding has shown a promising future. In this paper, three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations investigate the influence of infill drilling optimization by waterflooding in the Clair Oil Field so as to maximize net present value (NPV). An important goal of this study of reservoir management was to determine optimal well locations and optimal operational parameters (production constraints) that maximize cumulative oil production. Theoretical ideas and mathematical models with field data performance demonstrated the factors that can be considered in infill drilling so as to increase oil reserves. Most of the factors were related to reservoir heterogeneities and were important quantitatively for fluid injection and production. The results revealed that the four infill wells added in this study led to an increase in the field's total cumulative oil production from 7.91×106 to 9.39×106 m3. The NPV after infill drilling optimization by waterflooding increased by 54.4% over the base case. The oil recovery factor rose from 17.2% to 20.2%, while the gas oil ratio (GOR) fell from 1,000 to 840 SCF/STB. After combining infill drilling with waterflooding, the horizontal infill producers outperformed vertical infill producers by 5.5%. The field water cut was reduced from 95% to 88%. In addition, an analysis of cumulative production between parent and child wells was made. It was found that child wells produce less cumulative oil production than do parent wells. This paper reveals the greater success of a combination of infill drilling with waterflooding in enhancing oil production compared to other findings where the influence of infill drilling and waterflooding were analyzed separately or compared. It can be concluded that the Clair Oil Field has great potential to increase oil production by combining infill drilling with waterflooding, after other improved oil recovery techniques fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK refugee sector encompasses welfare provision, systems advocacy, capacity development and research. However, to date there has been little attention on refugees' experiences of the support provided by these services or on the views of the practitioners who deliver them. This paper draws from interviews and workshops with thirty refugee beneficiaries of an integration service in Scotland and twenty practitioners to shed light on how refugees and practitioners perceive and provide meaning to the work of the refugee sector. We identify refugee sector organisations as crucial nodes in refugees' social networks and explore the multiple roles they play in the integration process. Firstly, we confirm that refugee organisations act as connectors, linking refugees with wider networks of support. Secondly, we demonstrate that the work of the refugee sector involves acts of care that are of intrinsic value to refugees, over and above the achievement of tangible integration outcomes. Finally, we demonstrate that this care also involves acts that seek to overcome and subvert statutory system barriers. We propose to understand these acts as forms of "practice-based resistance" necessitated by a hostile policy environment. The findings expand on understandings of the refugee sector, its role in integration and the multi-faceted nature of integration processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Recent UK legislation allows dental therapists or jointly-qualified dental hygienist-therapists to work in the general dental service. This study aimed to investigate the extent of dentists' knowledge of the clinical remit of jointly qualified hygienist-therapists, their willingness to consider employing such a professional, and factors associated with these two measures.Materials and methods A postal questionnaire was sent to 616 NHS-registered dentists in South-East Scotland. Analysis and classification of responses to open-ended questions used standard non-parametric statistical tests and quantitative techniques.Results Following two mailings, a 50% (n = 310) response rate was obtained. A total of 65% of dentists worked in a practice employing a dental hygienist, while only 2% employed a dental therapist. Hygienists tended to work in larger practices. Dentists' knowledge of the clinical remit of the dually-qualified hygienist-therapist was found to be limited, reflecting a restricted and inaccurate view of the professional remit of a hygienist-therapist. The majority (64%) said they would consider employing a hygienist-therapist in their practice, rising to 72% amongst dentists already working with a hygienist. Reasons given by dentists who were negative about this prospect were sought. Those who worked with a hygienist tended to refer to lack of physical space, whilst those who did not tended to cite reservations on clinical skills, competence and responsibilities, or on the costs involved.Conclusions This study identified considerable ignorance and negativity among dentists about the nature and clinical remit of this group of professionals. Dually-qualified hygienist-therapists will be in a position to treat much of the routine disease that exists within the population, and dentists may benefit from education in relation to the substantial contribution these individuals could potentially make to patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to broaden existing understandings of migrant worker flexibility drawing on the data from the two ethnographic studies of low-wage employers and Eastern European migrants in Scotland. It focuses on the temporal aspects of flexibility production in employment discourse and temporal expectations about flexible migrant workers. Our findings reveal double movement of interruption and remaking of temporal flexibility, which challenges directional expectations about time and unsettles the assumed connectivity between flexibility's temporal elements. Uncertainty and instability of migration and employment frameworks undermine the attempts of employers and migrants to manage time, to develop continuous portfolio careers and coherent temporal horizons. Furthermore, contested temporal expectations about flexible migrant workers create fragmented and fractured "flexiworkers" that do not fit within the existing temporal frameworks of signs, routines, and rhythms. The paper suggests re-orientation of flexibility debates beyond temporal measurement, outside familiar temporal structures, and towards redefinition of flexible worker identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency legislation introduced internationally since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the closure of all levels of educational settings and a shift to remote teaching. Drawing lessons from an independent child rights impact assessment (CRIA) in Scotland, United Kingdom, this paper reviews the impact of COVID-19 measures on children and young people's rights to, and experiences of, education during the current crisis. Findings highlight that while measures sought to preserve the best interests of children and their basic rights to safety, a distinct lack of consultation on the impacts of the measures undermined the interdependency and indivisibility of children's human rights. Three human rights principles – participation and inclusion, non-discrimination, and mutual accountability of family and the State – were identified as being particularly significant in this assessment. Looking forward, findings point to the need for extending the range of perspectives involved in child rights impact assessments in times of crisis – where human rights are at even greater risk of being breached – and the significance of a children's rights-based perspective for re-imagining education altogether. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2022, the UN marked the International Year of Glass, celebrating the essential role glass has, and will continue to have, in society. One element of this celebration was the importance of glass within art and its history, which the Craft Scotland 2022 Conference: The Power of Glass looked to explore. The aim of the conference was to allow a range of individuals, be they academics, researchers, or students of glass and art history within Scotland and the UK, to access contemporary thought within an under-represented field in the UK craft sector. In this paper, we look to highlight the links between the aims of the International Year of Glass and the proceedings of The Power of Glass Conference, demonstrating how glass artists, makers, and designers are part of a growing international body of creatives who are using the communicative possibilities of glass as a vehicle in which to raise pertinent questions and platform unheard and overlooked narratives. Moreover, they seek to overturn perceived biases of what glass is and its future potential by placing their craft within an arena of judgement beyond discussions of process and technique and by elevating socio-political glass art on par with other forms of artistic protest and commentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family group conferences (FGCs) in child welfare share decision-making with family members by bringing the immediate and wider family together to make a plan to meet a child's needs. This paper reports survey findings on FGC provision in the UK in 2022 and explores whether in England the presence of an FGC service and the rate of FGC provision is associated with the rate of children in care, entering care, in kinship foster care and leaving care. Seventy-nine per cent (n  = 167) of local authorities in the UK provided FGCs to families, and 14 per cent (n  = 29) did not. Services that were more established offered a more diverse range of FGCs. The introduction of FGCs in English local authorities was associated with a higher rate of children in care, but also higher rates of kinship foster care, a key goal of FGCs where it is not possible for children to stay with their parents. Higher rates of FGCs were associated with more children leaving care, possibly due to reunification with birth families. To understand in more detail, the circumstances of children in and leaving care in local authorities with FGCs, individual data linkage studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the thirty-fifth annual conference and annual general meeting (AGM) of the Scottish Legal History Group (SLHG) which was held in Edinburgh, Scotland on October 3, 2015, and it provides abstracts of several papers by authors such as Dauvit Broun, Joanna Tucker, and Dr. Jenny Wormald which were presented at the event. According to the article, an additional SLHG conference will be held on October 1, 2016. Scottish judicial records and declaratory power are assessed.

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.

In this paper, we use a UK case study to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health (emotional, psychological, social wellbeing) of farmers. We outline the drivers of poor farming mental health, the manifold impacts of the pandemic at a time of policy and environmental change, and identify lessons that can be learned to develop resilience in farming communities against future shocks. We undertook a survey answered by 207 farmers across the UK, focusing on drivers of poor mental health and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also conducted 22 in-depth interviews with individuals in England, Scotland and Wales who provide mental health support to farmers. These explored how and why the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of farmers. These interviews were supplemented by 93 survey responses from a similar group of support providers (UK-wide). We found that the pandemic exacerbated underlying drivers of poor mental health and wellbeing in farming communities. 67% of farmers surveyed reported feeling more stressed, 63% felt more anxious, 38% felt more depressed, and 12% felt more suicidal. The primary drivers of poor mental health identified by farmers during the pandemic included decreased social contact and loneliness, issues with the general public on private land, and moving online for social events. Support providers also highlighted relationship and financial issues, illness, and government inspections as drivers of poor mental health. Some farmers, conversely, outlined positive impacts of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many potential stressors associated with poor farming mental health and its impacts are likely to be long-lasting and delayed. Multiple stressors affecting farmers at the same time can create a tipping point. Therefore, there is a need for long-term support and ongoing evaluation of the drivers of poor mental health in farming families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper investigates the information behaviour of creative DJs, a group previously not considered from the perspective of information studies. The practice of DJing is a musically creative process, where a performance can draw on a vast range of music to create a unique listening and dancing experience. The authors study what are the information behaviour processes involved in creative DJing and what roles embodied information play in DJing practice. Design/methodology/approach: From a set of semi-structured interviews with 12 experienced DJs in Scotland, UK, that were subjected to inductive thematic analysis, the authors present a model of how DJs undergo the process of planning, performing and evaluating a DJ performance. Findings: From this study, a model of creative DJs' information behaviour is presented. This three-stage model describes the information behaviours and critical factors that influence DJs' planning, decision-making and verification during the pre-performance, performance and post-performance stages, with particular emphasis on DJs' performances as a rich site of embodied information interactions. Originality/value: This research provides insight into a new activity in information behaviour, particularly in the use of embodied information, and presents a model for the information behaviour of creative DJs. This opens the way for future studies to consider minorities within the activity, the audience as opposed to the performer, as well as other creative activities where physicality and performance are central. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many migrant groups, particularly those that are politically and economically marginalised, such as asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs), face inequities in access to health care as well as poorer physical and mental health outcomes. The role of post-arrival experiences in contributing to these inequities is increasingly being explored, and it is suggested that being a migrant is itself a determinant of health outcomes. Drawing on the theoretical concept of structural vulnerability, this paper explores ASRs' experiences of health, wellbeing, and health practices in the context of their lived realities in Scotland. 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with ASRs from Sub-Saharan Africa between January and December 2015. Data were explored using thematic analysis. Experience of the UK asylum system, both alone and in conjunction with other sources of vulnerability including racism, poverty, and language barriers had a negative and ongoing impact on the physical and mental health of ASRs. These impacts continued, even once refugee status was obtained. Efforts to engage ASRs in preventive health programmes and practices must take into account the ways in which the asylum system acts as a determinant of health, affecting both what it means to be healthy and what capacity individuals have to engage with their health. Political choices in how the asylum process is enacted have far-reaching implications for individual and population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social class differences in political participation are a pressing issue for democracies and they are particularly severe among young people in the UK. Disadvantaged young people are the least likely to be politically engaged in the UK and it is assumed that with declining levels of participation inequalities in political participation increase. What happens to political inequality though when levels of youth participation increase? Do more advantaged young people account for most of the extra participation or do disadvantaged young people 'catch up'? Based on representative survey data, this paper investigates levels of political inequality among 16- and 17-year-olds in a context of increasing participation in Scotland. We find that in Scotland young people of all social classes were equally likely to be politically engaged, while among young people in the rest of the UK and adults from Scotland those of higher social status were more likely to be engaged in politics. Overall, social class differences in political engagement were less pronounced amongst 16- and 17-year-olds in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. The paper offers some possible explanations of this finding and suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind is in a rapid transitional phase, pushed worldwide by efforts of those to reduce climate change. Wind power is becoming a commercialised, unsubsidised competitive form of low carbon generation of renewable energy. Marketplaces reflect this growing trend with the first introduction of subsidy free bids in a tender for the Dutch and German governments. The analysis of surrounding literature of subsidy free bids and governmental policies revealed that integration of subsidy free bids have been carried out to various extents. Bids like those seen in the German and Dutch governments have been done in accompaniment with supportive policies and measures. For the UK, a possible subsidy free bid could be developed under the Scottish Sectoral Marine Plan. Owing to that, this paper investigates the feasibility of a subsidy free bid for the Scottish government. Utilising the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) metric were inserted into a detailed excel spreadsheet. This paper calculates multiple financial scenarios under the LCOE metric to provide an insight into the possible scenarios of which different models of subsidy free bids can be implemented. The main parameters associated with the BEIS metric and calculator design were investigated. These included financial cost predictions, discount rate, generational capacity and net capacity factors. The final conclusion of the generated output data, showed it was indeed possible to adopt a subsidy free bid under the current UK contract for difference (CfD) scheme under strict and favourable conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty, poor housing and poor health are complexly interconnected in a cycle that has proven resistant to intervention by housing providers or policy makers. Research often focuses on the impacts of the physical housing defects, particularly upon rates of (physical) illness and disease. There has been comparatively little research into the ways in which housing services can underpin the generation of positive health and, especially, wellbeing. Drawing on qualitative data from 75 tenants in the social and private rented sectors, this paper describes the findings of a research project that tracked tenants' experiences across their first year in a new tenancy in Greater Glasgow, Scotland. The project collected data on tenants' perceptions of housing and housing service quality, financial coping and health and wellbeing, which was analysed using the principles of Realist Evaluation to elucidate impacts and causal pathways. Being able to establish a sense of home was key to tenants' wellbeing. The home provided many tenants with a recuperative space in which to shelter from daily stressors and was a source of autonomy and social status. A sense of home was underpinned by aspects of the housing service, property quality and affordability which are potentially amenable to intervention by housing providers. These findings raise questions about the extent to which social housing providers and the private rental market in the UK are able to meet the needs of vulnerable tenants. They suggest that approaches to housing provision that go beyond providing a basic dwelling are needed to successfully intervene in the cycle of poverty, poor housing and poor health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers around the globe have increasingly invested in digital health technologies to support the 'test, track and trace' approach of containing the spread of the novel coronavirus. These technologies include mobile 'contact tracing' applications (apps), which can trace individuals likely to have come into contact with those who have reported symptoms or tested positive for the virus and request that they self-isolate. This paper takes a critical public health perspective that advocates for 'genuine participation' in public health interventions and emphasises the need to take citizen's knowledge into account during public health decision-making. In doing so, it presents and discusses the findings of a UK interview study that explored public views on the possibility of using a COVID-19 contact-tracing app public health intervention at the time the United Kingdom (UK) Government announced their decision to develop such a technology. Findings illustrated interviewees' range and degree of understandings, misconceptions, and concerns about the possibility of using an app. In particular, concerns about privacy and surveillance predominated. Interviewees associated these concerns much more broadly than health by identifying with pre-existent British national narratives associated with individual liberty and autonomy. In extending and contributing to ongoing sociological research with public health, we argue that understanding and responding to these matters is vital, and that our findings demonstrate the need for a forward-looking, anticipatory strategy for public engagement as part of the responsible innovation of the COVID-19 contact-tracing app in the UK. [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]

In this paper we assess the relationship between how women access the land they farm, and their farming identities, roles, and future succession plans. Utilizing a Bourdieusian approach, we conceptualize inheritance of farmland as a long‐term process of symbolic and economic investment. We conducted a cohort analysis of women living or working on farms in Scotland, UK who (a) were or were not raised on farms; and (b) bought into or inherited agricultural land (directly or through their spouses). Data comprised on‐line survey responses, qualitative interviews and focus groups. Analysis demonstrated that women who were raised on farms and either inherited farms or established new farms, were more likely to identify themselves as farmers, engage in machinery work and identify female successors. Women who accessed farmland through marriage tended to engage in more home‐making tasks, to identify themselves as farmers' wives, and to occupy larger farms. These largest, potentially most viable farms thus continue to be inherited by men. However, when women inherit farms, a step change occurs, where daughters are much more likely to be identified as future successors. Enabling women raised on farms to inherit and/or establish new farms is thus critical to altering patriarchal succession cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to the conventional focus on recruits and members, this paper examines identity construction in professional organisations. It explores authenticity work – identification activity directed at external audiences to assert distinctiveness. The focus is on commemorative celebrations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) during the twentieth century. Evidence from archival and published documents demonstrates that the chartered bodies in Britain were anxious to assert their uniqueness in an increasingly congested professional field. The analysis shows that ICAS made authenticity claims based on its unique position as the first accountancy body in the modern world and emphasised its status as the originator of the institutions of the accountancy profession. The ICAEW, by contrast, initially stressed its alignment to progress and modernity and later emphasised its standing as the leading professional body located at the centre of economic and political power. It is suggested that comprehending the authenticity claims of these organisations is potentially significant to understanding the fragmentation of the chartered accountancy profession in Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Part I of this paper we have introduced the closed-form conditions for guaranteeing regional frequency stability in a power system. Here we propose a methodology to represent these conditions in the form of linear constraints and demonstrate their applicability by implementing them in a generation-scheduling model. This model simultaneously optimises energy production and ancillary services for maintaining frequency stability in the event of a generation outage, by solving a frequency-secured Stochastic Unit Commitment (SUC). We consider the Great Britain system, characterised by two regions that create a non-uniform distribution of inertia: England in the South, where most of the load is located, and Scotland in the North, containing significant wind resources. Through several case studies, it is shown that inertia and frequency response cannot be considered as system-wide magnitudes in power systems that exhibit inter-area oscillations in frequency, as their location in a particular region is key to guarantee stability. In addition, securing against a medium-sized loss in the low-inertia region proves to cause significant wind curtailment, which could be alleviated through reinforced transmission corridors. In this context, the proposed constraints allow to find the optimal volume of ancillary services to be procured in each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British seismologist John Milne (1850-1913) is a dominant and celebrated figure in historical accounts of seismology. In this paper I use evidence from seismographs preserved in the collections of the Science Museum Group to reconsider his contribution, particularly to the progress of international collaboration in seismology. These instruments were installed at Eskdalemuir Observatory in Dumfriesshire, Scotland between 1908 and 1925; not only were they situated far from Milne's private observatory on the Isle of Wight, but they represented examples of Russian, Japanese and German seismograph design as well as Milne's own. No other site in Britain boasted such an international suite of earthquake instruments. Together, they reveal an alternative vantage-point from which to view his influence. By attending closely to the instruments' provenance, I show how the collection can be a powerful tool for decentring the hagiography that surrounds the so-called 'Father of Modern Seismology'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to present data about access to health and social care services during the COVID-19 pandemic for adults with learning disabilities across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected directly from 621 adults with learning disabilities and through separate proxy reports by family carers and paid support staff of another 378 adults with learning disabilities. The data were collected between December 2020 and February 2021 and concerned the use of health and social care services since the start of the first COVID-19 national lockdown in March 2020. Findings: Access to and use of health and social care services significantly reduced for adults with learning disabilities across the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic between March 2020 and February 2021, with many people not receiving any services at all during that period. Similar patterns were seen across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. However, data suggest some variations between countries for some services. Practical implications: Future pandemic planning must ensure that access to these essential services is not completely lost for adults with learning disabilities and their family carers, as it was in some cases during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Originality/value: This is the largest study about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and social care services for adults with learning disabilities in the UK. The authors primarily collected data directly from adults with learning disabilities, and worked with partner organisations of people with learning disabilities throughout the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses to what extent British councils have addressed onshore wind energy, and the attitudes of councillors and staff about wind farms. Websites of 400 British councils were reviewed regarding assessment of landscapes and policies towards wind energy. An Internet survey of 800 councillors and staff from 275 councils quantified their attitudes towards wind farms, their visual impacts and the acceptability of existing wind farms in Britain. Wind farms reduced perceived scenic quality. Staff opposed wind energy but councillors were more accommodating. Most participants in England found wind farms acceptable, but less than half in Wales and one third in Scotland. Scotland may have reached the limit for acceptability of wind farms. Wales may be approaching that point. Overall, the survey indicated that it is unlikely that there will be widespread installation of additional onshore wind farms across Britain. Expansion of renewable energy may be sought through re-powering of existing sites with larger but fewer turbines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financialization of everyday life has received considerable attention since the 2008 global financial crisis. Financialization is thought to have created active financial subjects through the ability to participate in mainstream financial services. While the lived experience of these mainstream financial subjects has been the subject of close scrutiny, the experiences of financial subjects at the financial fringe have been rarely considered. In the UK, for example, the introduction of High-Cost, Short-Term Credit [HCSTC] or payday loan regulation was designed to protect vulnerable people from accessing unaffordable credit. Exploring the impact of HCSTC regulation is important due to the dramatic decline of the high-cost credit market which helped meet essential needs in an era of austerity. As such, the paper examines the impact of the HCSTC regulation on sixty-four financially marginalized individuals in the UK that are unable to access payday loans. First, we identify the range of socioeconomic strategies that individuals employ to manage their finances to create a typology of financial subjectivity at the financial fringe. Second, we demonstrate how the temporal and precarious nature of financial inclusion at the financial fringe adds nuance to existing debates of the everyday lived experience of financialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This inaugural virtual issue of the Health Information and Libraries Journal ( HILJ) celebrates the contribution of health information in informing health and social care library and information provision. It has been drawn together to reflect the 2010 biennial Health Libraries Group conference theme of Keeping Information Centre Stage Amid Changing Scenery and includes a series of eleven key papers published in the journal over the last two years. This virtual issue mirrors the usual format of a journal issue with a review article, original articles and regular features on Learning and Teaching in Action, Using Evidence in Practice and International Perspectives and Initiatives. All papers included in this virtual issue of Health Information and Libraries Journal are available free online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work education has again been subject to scrutiny and review across the UK. Different countries have set about this task in different ways. In England, we can observe a top-down process driven by government; in Scotland, the approach has evolved more collaboratively. This paper discusses the recent Review of Social Work Education in Scotland within the broader pressures and opportunities of public service reform. At the heart of the review findings is a simple but timely conclusion: we need to realise a shared approach to professional learning, across the social work career path. This means moving beyond recent preoccupations with social work education, and polarising approaches to reform, towards a genuinely co-owned approach in which professional learning is a shared responsibility and a central feature of what it is to be a social work professional. In closing, the paper considers how we might realise a shared approach to professional learning in Scotland and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary requirement for policy objectives is reliable figures on the composition of any region. Currently there is no comprehensive, definitive set of statistics for the British Uplands, hence the present paper. An overview of the background to the region is first provided, together with some examples of the available figures and a discussion of their limitations. The paper uses a formal structure, with landscapes at the highest level followed by habitats, then vegetation, and finally species, with exact definitions of the categories applied at all levels. The figures are produced from a survey of stratified, random one kilometre squares. The tables give comprehensive figures for Great Britain (GB) as a whole, and also England, Wales and Scotland. The Uplands are shown to cover 38 % of the country. In terms of UK Broad Habitats, Bog is the most common overall (2062 k ha). It is estimated that 41 % of upland vegetation in Britain is grazed by sheep, and Cervus elephus (red deer) are particularly evident in Scotland. Walls (mainly drystone) are the most important linear feature (84 k km) but hedgerows (30 k km) are also widespread. The major vegetation classes are those linked to moorlands and bogs (about 25 %) but those associated with fertile soils are also common (10 %). In terms of species, Potentilla erecta (tormentil) is the most frequent species with four other acid grassland species in the top ten. Calluna vulgaris (ling heather) has the highest cover in Great Britain (14.8 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out proposals for the 'ideal' legal framework to address homelessness in Great Britain (GB), with potential lessons for other countries seeking to pursue rights-based approaches in this field. Exploiting the 'natural experiment' conditions generated by post-devolution divergence in key aspects of homelessness law, the paper draws on legal and social scientific learning from England, Scotland and Wales, as well as internationally, to formulate proposals for the optimal rights-based model. We argue that an ideal statutory homelessness system, situated in a less than ideal welfare and housing context, requires a balance to be struck between a robust set of individually-enforceable entitlements, on the one hand, and scope for pro-active, flexible approaches on the part of housing practitioners, on the other. The ten core principles we advance would therefore aim to combine the best of 'professional-centred' and 'rights-centred' social policy approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The policing of young people, especially through stop-and-search, has been rigorously debated in the context of rising violence in the UK. While concepts based on procedural justice theory and perceptions of police fairness are directly relevant to these debates, these have rarely been tested on young people, nor have they taken account of the impact of stop-and-search. This paper examines young people's experiences of stop-and-search in two Scottish and two English cities, and tests the relationship between these experiences, their trust in the police, their perceptions of police legitimacy and their compliance with the law. The study finds that Scottish adolescents, who experienced higher volume stop-and-search, had more negative attitudes to the police and perceived them to be less procedurally fair than English adolescents. Structural equation modelling confirms that principles of procedural justice theory do apply to young people in this UK sample. However, our findings suggest that stop-and-search may damage trust in the police and perceptions of police legitimacy, regardless of the volume of police stop-and-search, and this may result in increased offending behaviour. With ongoing calls to increase the use of stop-and-search in response to recent increases in knife crime in England, we argue that its use needs to be carefully balanced against the, as yet poorly evidenced, benefits of the use of the tactic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of the National Institute Economic Review is being published at an unsettled and uncertain time for the United Kingdom. In June 2022, the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon called for a second referendum on Scottish independence to be held in October 2023. While it is unlikely that the referendum will be granted by the UK government, current polling suggests the outcome of such a referendum would be too close to call. Eight years after Scotland voted 55%–45% to stay in the Union, independence remains a live issue, which raises fundamental questions about economic and governance arrangements between Westminster and the UK's constituent parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Deaths in care homes and "at home" are anticipated to account for a third of UK deaths by 2040. Currently, palliative and end of life care are not part of statutory training in care homes. Reflective practice is a tool that can facilitate practice‐based learning and support. Following a feasibly study to test "online" supportive conversations and reflection sessions (OSCaRS) to support care home staff in relation to death/dying during the first months of the COVID pandemic, a one‐year practice development follow‐up project was undertaken with the aim to create a team of NHS/specialist palliative care (SPC)‐based facilitators to lead and support OSCaRS provision in up to 50 care homes in one region in Scotland—the focus of this paper. Methods: Forty care home managers attended an on‐line session explaining the project, with a similar session held for 19 NHS/SPC‐based nurses external to care homes. Those interested in facilitating OSCaRS then attended three education sessions. Data collected: records of all activities; reflective notes on OSCaRS organised/delivered; a summary of each OSCaRS reflection/learning points; final interviews with NHS/SPC trainee facilitators. Results: A total of 19 NHS/SPC facilitators delivered one or more OSCaRS in 22 participating care homes. However, as of January 2022 only six trained facilitators remained active. Out of the 158 OSCaRS arranged, 96 took place with a total of 262 staff attending. There were three important aspects that emerged: the role, remit, and resources of NHS/SPC supporting OSCaRS; requirements within care homes for establishing OSCaRS; and, the practice‐based learning topics discussed at each OSCaRS. Conclusion: Attempts to establish a team of NHS/SPC facilitators to lead OSCaRS highlights that end of life care education in care homes does not clearly fall within the contractual remit of either group or risks being missed due to more pressing priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numbers of urgent short stay admissions (SSAs) of children to UK hospitals are rising rapidly. This paper reports on experiences of SSAs from the perspective of parents accessing urgent care for their acutely unwell child and of health professionals referring, caring for, or admitting children. Methods: A qualitative interview study was conducted by a multi-disciplinary team with patient and public involvement (PPI) to explore contextual factors relating to SSAs and better understand pre-hospital urgent care pathways. Purposive sampling of Health Board areas in Scotland, health professionals with experience of paediatric urgent care pathways and parents with experience of a SSA for their acutely unwell child was undertaken to ensure maximal variation in characteristics such as deprivation, urban-rural and hospital structure. Interviews took place between Dec 2019 and Mar 2021 and thematic framework analysis was applied. Results: Twenty-one parents and forty-eight health professionals were interviewed. In the context of an urgent SSA, the themes were centred around shared outcomes of care that matter. The main outcome which was common to both parents and health professionals was the importance of preserving the child's safety. Additional shared outcomes by parents and health professionals were a desire to reduce worries and uncertainty about the illness trajectory, and provide reassurance with sufficient time, space and personnel to undertake a period of skilled observation to assess and manage the acutely unwell child. Parents wanted easy access to urgent care and, preferably, with input from paediatric-trained staff. Healthcare professionals considered that it was important to reduce the number of children admitted to hospital where safe and appropriate to do so. Conclusions: The shared outcomes of care between parents and health professionals emphasises the potential merit of adopting a partnership approach in identifying, developing and testing interventions to improve the acceptability, safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of urgent care pathways between home and hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores an aspect of the legacy of the Declaration of Arbroath and expands upon earlier research into tensions surrounding the commemorations in 1814 of the battle of Bannockburn. It considers the evidence for connections between those radical artisans and their leaders who attempted to rouse popular insurrection in 1820, Scotland's so-called 'radical war', and Bruce's now-celebrated missive to the papacy of 6 April 1320, five centuries before. Did the armed workers moving on Carron Shore Iron Foundry on 5 April 1820, routed by troops at Bonnymuir, seek to coincide with the Declaration's anniversary? To what extent was the radicals' own declaration, the Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland, influenced by the text of 1320? If so, did this represent a continuation, a renewal or a debut for the Declaration as an inspiration for popular political participation in modern times? A survey of the holdings of early working-class subscription, circulation and public libraries in central Scotland c. 1790–c. 1830 can be made to identify both known and previously unnoticed published works which reproduced, translated and/or discussed the Declaration, as well as any radicalised readers. This reveals public awareness of Arbroath in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to have been potentially far more widespread than hitherto recognised by historians, if still marginal as a catalyst to political agitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counter-urbanisation has been a continuing trend within the UK since the 1970s. This presents challenges for both urban and rural planners. The paper considers potential interdependences between spatial housing submarkets associated with counter-urbanisation, and highlights the economic factors which will influence the pattern of price effects across the market system. Empirical analysis focuses on the Aberdeen housing market area, split to distinguish between the city centre, suburb and accessible rural areas where the latter are within commuting distance of the city. A vector error correction model is used to identify the long-run interdependencies between each submarket. We find evidence of spatial price transmission between housing submarkets consistent with a direct city to rural rather than cascading counter-urbanisation process. The prices in the suburb area are found to adjust most rapidly should prices diverge from the long-run equilibrium. The results confirm the importance of planning frameworks which transcend rural-urban and, in this case, local authority boundaries. In the light of the findings, the paper considers the role of planning in mediating market impacts associated with counter-urbanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pedagogical translation in UK secondary school language classrooms appears to have returned to favour after years of demonisation brought about by Grammar Translation pedagogy and the rise of L2-only approaches. This renewed interest is reflected in the recent inclusion of translation in the reading and writing sections of GCSE exams (taken by students in all countries within the UK except Scotland). However, there is still some uncertainty around how translation is perceived and utilised in the language classroom. What function has translation been thus far ascribed within language education? What could it be used to achieve? This article presents an overview of where translation currently sits within the secondary Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) landscape in the UK. It then examines how translation may be redefined as 'dynamic' and used as a communicative, creative activity to aid students with various aspects of their language learning. Examples of such activities are provided and explained. Finally, recommendations are made as to how to make Dynamic Translation accessible to students in future, namely through task-based translation projects and new forms of pedagogical translation assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is considerable geographic variation in stroke mortality around the United Kingdom (UK). Whether this is due to geographical differences in incidence or case-fatality is unclear. We conducted a systematic review of high-quality studies documenting the incidence of any stroke and stroke subtypes, between 1985 and 2008 in the UK. We aimed to study geographic and temporal trends in relation to equivalent mortality trends. Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched, reference lists inspected and authors of included papers were contacted. All rates were standardised to the European Standard Population for those over 45, and between 45 and 74 years. Stroke mortality rates for the included areas were then calculated to produce rate ratios of stroke mortality to incidence for each location. Results: Five papers were included in this review. Geographic variation was narrow but incidence appeared to largely mirror mortality rates for all stroke. For men over 45, incidence (and confidence intervals) per 100,000 ranged from 124 (109-141) in South London, to 185 (164-208) in Scotland. For men, premature (45-74 years) stroke incidence per 100,000 ranged from 79 (67-94) in the North West, to 112 (95-132) in Scotland. Stroke subtype data was more geographically restricted, but did suggest there is no sizeable variation in incidence by subtype around the country. Only one paper, based in South London, had data on temporal trends. This showed that there has been a decline in stroke incidence since the mid 1990 s. This could not be compared to any other locations in this review. Conclusions: Geographic variations in stroke incidence appear to mirror variations in mortality rates. This suggests policies to reduce inequalities in stroke mortality should be directed at risk factor profiles rather than treatment after a first incident event. More high quality stroke incidence data from around the UK are needed before this can be confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to make the case that there is a need to move beyond a focus on an approach to leadership development which is confined to health care only. It argues that, given the economic, financial, social and organisational context within which health and social care organisations in the UK operate, there is a need to develop leadership within health and social care systems, rather than within the existing "siloed" sectors. Design/methodology/approach: The paper considers the context within which health and social care organisations in the UK operate; examines the nature of those organisations; makes the case for focusing on the health and social car system through systems leadership; and identifies the need for leadership, rather than leader development. Findings: There is a danger of health and social care organisations "walking backwards into the future" with eyes fixed on the past. The future lies with treating health and social care as a system, rather than focusing on organisations. The current model is individual leader focused, but the emerging model is one of collective multi-agency teams. Originality/value: The paper seeks to go beyond a health-care-only focus, by asserting that there is a need to regard health and social care as a single system, delivered by a multiplicity of different organisations. This has implications for the kind of leadership involved and for how this might be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scottish publisher and naturalist Robert Chambers pursued an amateur interest in geology through much of his life. His early measurements of raised beaches in Scotland earned him membership in the Geological Society of London in 1844, a recognition much appreciated by the anonymous author of the ‘scandalous’Vestigespublished the same year. Although familiar with emerging ice age theories, Chambers remained with most British geologists a sceptic through the 1840s, even after a trip to the glaciers of the Alps in 1848, which nevertheless prepared him for the turning point, which came in 1849 during an extensive field trip in Norway and Sweden. Here a wealth of observations left him in no doubt that vast glaciers had formerly covered Scandinavia, polishing cliffs, scouring striations, depositing old moraines and erratic boulders. This also led him to a new glacial reading of the British landscape, and with the ardent conviction of a fresh convert he became one of the most vocal supporters of glacial theory in Britain in the 1850s at a time when the iceberg drift theory for boulder transport was still favoured by most prominent British geologists. While Chambers through his popularChambers’s Edinburgh Journalcommunicated his travels and ice age vision to a wide audience, and also pointed out ice age evidence on guided excursions around Edinburgh, he did not enter this new vision into subsequent editions ofVestiges, probably in order not to reveal its author. This paper explores Chambers’s contributions to the ice age debate, his field trips and the genesis of his convictions, and evaluates his impact on the scientific debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]