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We know the policy of quarantining plague victims and their families together within their households entailed considerable costs and controversy in early modern Europe. Less clear is the extent to which the authorities implemented the policy in the face of this. This paper presents a novel approach to the measurement of enforcement which relies on linking deceased individuals listed in parish registers into household groups and then measuring changes in within‐household mortality between parishes and epidemics. This provides a more complete assessment of the scale of implementation than would be possible using documentary sources alone. Measuring within‐household mortality allows us to understand patterns of quarantine enforcement in settlements across early modern Europe. Here the focus is restricted to three epidemics that occurred in Bristol – one of England's most populous and prosperous cities. The analysis reveals household quarantine was enforced in 1603–4 with unprecedented vigour. The effects of quarantine are particularly pronounced in the affluent parishes where elite residence was highest. Greater evidence for enforcement is explained by greater elite oversight and control, as well as their desire to protect their own households. The scale of the impact is shocking. Household quarantine could double within household mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past decade has seen many calls for the development of unified ‘world historical archaeologies’ of the past 500 years. While the field benefits from growing international exchanges and collaborations, retaining the diversity of regional traditions is a major and emerging challenge. As the field increasingly tests the temporal, geographical and interdisciplinary limits of archaeological perspectives, engaging with the diversity of modern material, these complexities remain little discussed, and the situations and contingencies of disciplinary narratives, priorities and interactions remain unproblematized. Exploring these matters, this paper considers transatlantic interactions between British and North American traditions of historical archaeology over the past two decades, journeying between two garden landscapes – in Annapolis and Bristol. After considering Mark Leone's 1984 study of the William Paca garden in Annapolis, Maryland, and its subsequent reinterpretations, the paper discusses an eighteenth-century ‘eclectic’ garden at Goldney in Bristol. The paper argues that situational and ‘symmetrical’, rather than interpretative, approaches to archaeological material would aid the development of multi-vocal and inclusive ‘world historical archaeologies’, acknowledging and celebrating the archaeological complexities that are encountered in the past and the disciplinary present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Bristol Girls Dance Project was a cluster randomised controlled trial that aimed to increase objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels of Year 7 (age 11-12) girls through a dance-based after-school intervention. The intervention was delivered in nine schools and consisted of up to forty after-school dance sessions. This paper reports on the main findings from the detailed process evaluation that was conducted.Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from intervention schools. Dose and fidelity were reported by dance instructors at every session. Intervention dose was defined as attending two thirds of sessions and was measured by attendance registers. Fidelity to the intervention manual was reported by dance instructors. On four randomly-selected occasions, participants reported their perceived level of exertion and enjoyment. Reasons for non-attendance were self-reported at the end of the intervention. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all dance instructors who delivered the intervention (n = 10) and school contacts (n = 9) in intervention schools. A focus group was conducted with girls who participated in each intervention school (n = 9).Results: The study did not affect girls' MVPA. An average of 31.7 girls participated in each school, with 9.1 per school receiving the intervention dose. Mean attendance and instructors' fidelity to the intervention manual decreased over time. The decline in attendance was largely attributed to extraneous factors common to after-school activities. Qualitative data suggest that the training and intervention manual were helpful to most instructors. Participant ratings of session enjoyment were high but perceived exertion was low, however, girls found parts of the intervention challenging.Conclusions: The intervention was enjoyed by participants. Attendance at the intervention sessions was low but typical of after-school activities. Participants reported that the intervention brought about numerous health and social benefits and improved their dance-based knowledge and skills. The intervention could be improved by reducing the number of girls allowed to participate in each school and providing longer and more in-depth training to those delivering the intervention.Trial Registration: ISRCTN52882523 Registered 25th April 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews are presented of several articles from various periodicals, including "'A nest of warriors' -- the Holands of Northamptonshire 1314-1373" by D. Arden, published in "Northamptonshire Past and Present;" "A county community or the politics of the nation? Border service and baronial influence in the palatinate of Durham, 1377-1413" by M. Arvanigian, published in "Historical Research;" and "The social sources of late eighteenth-century English radicalism: Bristol in the 1770s and 1780s" by E. Baigent and J.E. Bradley, published in the "English Historical Review."

Information about the annual general meeting of the British Ecological Society held at the University College in London on January 6-7, 1949 and its thirty-fourth annual meeting held at Bristol University in London on January 9, 1948 are presented. Various woods and rare plants in Great Britain were discussed in the 1949 event accompanied by exhibits of various photographs of species while the 1948 meeting was about hydrography and ecology.

This paper explores teachers' objectives when engaging their students in University outreach programme. Their perceptions of the short-term and long-term effects of outreach engagement on their students are explored. Seven out of twelve teachers interviewed (all from state schools) believed there were long term effects such as a rise in students taking science at preuniversity level. Three out of twelve believed it was too difficult to tell and two believed there were no effects (both from independent schools). However, all teachers believed the activities enhanced interest and would continue to participate. Further exploration of these general findings is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on the author's experience as a panel member for the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry into the care of children receiving complex cardiac services at the BRI between 1984 and 1995 to describe the process of inquiry and to reflect on recent moves towards a more managed court system, in both civil and criminal jurisdictions. We may begin to question the traditional sharp distinction between adversarial and inquisitorial court processes and to consider the similarities as well as the differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a detailed analysis of the use of the APACHE II (acute physiological and chronic health evaluation) scoring system on all of the patients admitted to the general intensive care unit at the Bristol Royal Infirmary over a 20-month period. The 6-month survival of 691 adult medical and surgical patients following intensive care was recorded and this data was analysed with admission and daily APACHE II scores using a relational database. Our data confirms the relationship between admission APACHE II scores and outcome, with mean scores decreasing as duration of survival increases. We also demonstrate that the best day one scores are approximately 50% less than the admission score, irrespective of outcome, indicating the benefit of intensive care. By contrast, however, the scores on day one have either not improved or have worsened since admission, reflecting the importance of the pre-morbid health status of the patient in determining outcome from intensive care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the inner thoughts of Chamberlain in the days prior to war in 1939 found in the National Liberal Club Library papers which were bought by Bristol University Library in England. Details on the contents of these documents; Evidence found in the documents on what Chamberlain understood by the British guarantee to Poland.

The article presents the highlights of the 9th Biennial conference on the European Association of Social Anthropologists held from September 18 to 21, 2006 at Bristol, Great Britain. The global dimensions of particular ethnographic encounters based on the theme of the conference "Europe and the world" is focussed. Various events held at the conference including workshops, presentation of papers and discussions on cultural diversities are mentioned.

Reports on the British Society for Matrix Biology's autumn meeting in Bristol, England. Paper presentations; Key speakers; Event highlights.

A number of analyses have been made in recent years to fit models to the separate spatial distributions of homes and workplaces over a city. This paper investigates the fit of a spatial model to the joint distribution of homes and workplaces, taking into account that home and workplace locations are interrelated. The model is expressed as a single continuous function of the home and workplace coordinates, and in its simpler form has three parameters, each with a clear physical interpretation. The model is compared with data on desire-line lengths of work-trips in London and Bristol for different modes of transport, and the results show close agreement in moat of the cases that are examined. The analyses suggest that for work trips the model can be used as a suitable approximation to the trip distribution. The model describes the spatial pattern of travel, and provides a direct estimate of the travel demand, without the need for an iterative procedure. Some implications of the model are discussed and it is shown that the model can be expressed as a continuous variable form of the standard gravity model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the annual meeting of the British Ecological Society at the Departments of Botany and Zoology in Bristol University in Bristol, England on January 8-9, 1948 is presented. It featured exhibitions of ecological works including the work on the hydrography and ecology of the Lough Ine Rapids, Co. Cork and the botanical exhibits of a transect of dunes at Brauton Burrows. The report of the Thirty-third Annual Meeting of the Society in January 1947 is also featured.

Reports on the Medieval and Renaissance Music Conference held at the England-based University of Bristol on July 18-21, 2002. Highlights of the event; Topics discussed.

Identifiable excess surgical tissue is an important resource for medical research but we have become overly restrictive about consent requirements. I suggest we devolve consent to ethics committees for ordinary research projects involving human tissue, retaining the requirement for explicit consent only for those sensitive research situations where there is significant risk of harm to individual interests in privacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High performance is often attributed to an organization's culture. However, culture can just as easily undermine performance when it blinds decision makers to important performance issues and entraps them in unfortunate courses of action from which they cannot disengage. The dynamics of cultural entrapment are explored in the case of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, in which pediatric cardiac surgeries continued for over a fourteen-year period despite evidence of poor quality care and performance that was far below that of other comparable pediatric surgical centers. A single organizational process of behavioral commitment explains how the cultural mindset originated and why it persisted. The sequence of small, public, volitional, and irrevocable action; socially acceptable justification for that action; and the potential for subsequent activities to validate or threaten the justification created a causal loop that stabilized subsequent action patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the form of the accounts of the City of Bristol, England, from 1532 until the reform of the Corporation in 1835. The author focuses on the form and content of the account books and indications of the uses to which they were put. An examination of the Audits reveals that they were written up after the accounting period had ended. The author assumes that there must have been books of original entry and a record of the funds not contained in the Mayor's Audits, as none prior to 1615 remain. Reports found dated past 1615 have made it possible to trace the efforts of the mayor and commonalty in obtaining effective financial control.

In recent years there has been growing acknowledgement of the place of workhouses within the range of institutional provision for mentally disordered people in nineteenth-century England. This article explores the situation in Bristol, where an entrenched workhouse-based model was retained for an extended period in the face of mounting external ideological and political pressures to provide a proper lunatic asylum. It signified a contest between the modernising, reformist inclinations of central state agencies and local bodies seeking to retain their freedom of action. The conflict exposed contrasting conceptions regarding the nature of services to which the insane poor were entitled.Bristol pioneered establishment of a central workhouse under the old Poor Law; ‘St Peter’s Hospital’ was opened in 1698. As a multi-purpose welfare institution its clientele included ‘lunatics’ and ‘idiots’, for whom there was specific accommodation from before the 1760s. Despite an unhealthy city centre location and crowded, dilapidated buildings, the enterprising Bristol authorities secured St Peter’s Hospital’s designation as a county lunatic asylum in 1823. Its many deficiencies brought condemnation in the national survey of provision for the insane in 1844. In the period following the key lunacy legislation of 1845, the Home Office and Commissioners in Lunacy demanded the replacement of the putative lunatic asylum within Bristol’s workhouse by a new borough asylum outside the city. The Bristol authorities resisted stoutly for several years, but were eventually forced to succumb and adopt the prescribed model of institutional care for the pauper insane. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Substantial advances have been made in identifying common genetic variants influencing cardiometabolic traits and disease outcomes through genome wide association studies. Nevertheless, gaps in knowledge remain and new questions have arisen regarding the population relevance, mechanisms, and applications for healthcare. Using a new high-resolution custom single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array (Metabochip) incorporating dense coverage of genomic regions linked to cardiometabolic disease, the University College-London School-Edinburgh-Bristol (UCLEB) consortium of highly-phenotyped population-based prospective studies, aims to: (1) fine map functionally relevant SNPs; (2) precisely estimate individual absolute and population attributable risks based on individual SNPs and their combination; (3) investigate mechanisms leading to altered risk factor profiles and CVD events; and (4) use Mendelian randomisation to undertake studies of the causal role in CVD of a range of cardiovascular biomarkers to inform public health policy and help develop new preventative therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biography of physicist Ronald Milne Lees is presented. Lees was born on October 28, 1939 in Sutton, Surrey, England then emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He returned to England for his doctoral in physics in 1967 with the team of professor John G. Baker at the University of Bristol in Bristol, England. His lifetime research subject concerns on rotational and vibrational energy. It notes that Lees is an active player in many aspects of physics on his teaching days in Canada.

The article focuses on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) also known as the Children of the 90s, a cohort study in Bristol, England that traces how genetic and environmental factors that affect the children in their early years affect their later ones. It mentions that the project deals with phenotyping and biobanking resources of many births. It adds that researchers of the project have to study everything in order to know the things that will affect the future.

Background: Establishing healthy physical activity (PA) behaviours in early childhood is important for future PA behaviours. Parents play a central role in young children's PA. However, there is currently little research on parenting interventions to increase child PA. This study was formative work to inform the content of a pilot randomised-controlled trial. Methods: In-depth telephone interviews were carried out with 32 parents of 6 to 8 year old children residing in two areas that varied in their socio-economic characteristics, in Bristol, UK. Data were analysed thematically using a framework approach. Results: Most parents described their child as being active or very active and indicated that they did not perceive a need for an increase in their child's PA. Parents used a variety of visual cues to make this judgement, the most common being that they perceived their child as having lots of energy or that they did not view them as overweight. Parents reported environmental factors such as monetary cost, time constraints, lack of activity provision and poor weather as the main barriers to their child's PA. Parental support and child's enjoyment of PA appeared to be important facilitators to children participating in PA. Conclusion: Improving parents' knowledge of the PA recommendations for children, and increasing their awareness of the benefits of PA beyond weight status may be an important first step for a parenting PA intervention. Although parents commonly perceive environmental factors as the main barriers to their child's PA, parental concern about low levels of child PA, their capacity to support behaviour change, child motivation, self confidence and independence may be key areas to address within an intervention to increase child PA. Effective methods of helping parents address the latter have been developed in the context of generic parenting programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the expense examination during Queen Elizabeth I's progress to Bristol in 1574. Progresses are opportunities for an interactive dialogue between the Queen and her subjects. Although progresses should be accompanied by civic petitions, the 1574 Bristol progress did not include a petition since entertainments for the queen reflected the city's loyalty and gratitude due to the Treaty of Bristol. To fund interspersing speeches and mock engagements, half of the money were collected from city districts by taxing the citizens.

Background: Preventing the decline in physical activity which occurs around 10-11 years of age is a public health priority. Physically active play can make unique contributions to children's development which cannot be obtained from more structured forms of physical activity. Encouraging active play in children's leisure time has potential to increase physical activity levels while promoting optimal child development. Aspired wisdom states that contemporary British children no longer play outdoors, but systematic evidence for this is lacking. We need to build a more informed picture of contemporary children's play before we consider interventions to increase it. Methods: Eleven focus groups were conducted with 77, 10-11 year old children from four primary schools in Bristol, UK. Focus groups examined: 1) children's perceptions of 'play'; 2) how much of their play is active play; and 3) contexts of children's active play. All focus groups were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. Results: Children's perceptions of play were broad and included both physically active and sedentary behaviours. Children reported that they frequently engaged in active play and valued both the physical and social benefits it provided. Whereas boys frequently reported having a 'kick about' or riding bikes as their preferred forms of active play, girls were less likely to report a specific activity. Additionally, boys reported greater independent mobility in their active play compared to girls. Finally, boys were more likely to report playing with neighbourhood friends but girls more frequently reported playing with family members. Conclusions: Promoting active play in children's leisure time may increase the physical activity of children, but interventions may need to be tailored according to gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemistry summer schools for 17-18 year old school students in the UK were run by Bristol ChemLabS, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Chemistry at the University of Bristol. Students attending were all studying Chemistry at post-16 level (A level in the UK) and experienced not only new practical techniques but also lectures on cutting-edge science as well as interacting with postgraduate role models. The students completed pre and post summer school questionnaires to ascertain the impact of the summer school on them. Paired t-tests were used to ascertain significant changes at the 2s level. There was no significant difference observed for self-concepts in Chemistry and Mathematics. For creative self-concept there was a significant increase (1s) for females but not males and a significant increase in academic selfconcept for the whole cohort. There was a high level of enjoyment of the summer school. There were a range of reasons for students attending the summer school and the benefits they produced and these are discussed. Interestingly, one of the main reasons for attending was to help students make choices of subject to study at University; however, the summer school opened the students' eyes to more possibilities rather than narrow the choices open to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a case study based in Bristol, this article explores how the ‘law of place’ has transformed multiple heterogeneous city centre spaces into a single homogeneous and commodified privately owned retail site. Drawing on de Certeau, Lefebvre, and humanistic geographers including Tuan, the article explores how law facilitates spatial and temporal enclosure through conventional understandings of private property, relying on techniques of masterplanning, compulsory purchase, and stopping up highways. It suggests that the law of place draws on binary spatial and conceptual distinctions to apparently separate places from spaces, applying different legal rules either side of an often invisible boundary line. The article questions this legally facilitated spatial and conceptual enclosure, particularly as it restricts spatial practices within the public realm. It concludes by rejecting an urban ‘right to roam’ as insufficiently transformative, calling for a broader interpretation of Lefebvre's ‘right to the city’ instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some of the challenges and opportunities facing academic historians involved in large British public history projects and examines how government priorities and the particular ways in which public funds are deployed can affect the critical intellectual content of such projects. To this end it first broadly outlines the context in which British public history has recently developed and then focuses on my own experiences as leader of a British public history project on 1001 years of ethnic minorities in Bristol, England, which was sponsored by the "England's Past for Everyone" initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is not to affirm or deny particular philosophical positions, but to explore the limits of intelligibility about what post-mortem harm means, especially in the light of improper post-mortem procedures at Bristol and Alder Hey hospitals in the late 1990s. The parental claims of post-mortem harm to dead children at Alder Hey Hospital are reviewed from five different philosophical perspectives, eventually settling on a crucial difference of perspective about how we understand harm to the dead. On the one hand there is the broadly ‘analytical’ tradition 1 of thinking that predicates the notion of harm on the basis of an existing subject. Since the dead are non-existent persons, it makes little sense to view the dead as being harmed. On the other hand, there is a phenomenological perspective, where the dead, in respect to the experience of grief, are existentially absent. This forms the basis that it is possible to harm grieving parent's experiences of how their dead are treated. The article ends with a short examination of what harming the dead implies for traditional bioethical concerns, namely, obtaining informed consent from significant others when planning medical research on the newly dead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case that religion alone can account for radicalism in the later eighteenth century has been persuasively argued and has received some empirical support. We test it using data from Bristol during the American crisis. Literature from the 1774 election shows that contemporaries assumed commonality of interest of poor voters with other poor voters and with the anti-establishment/radical candidates, and commonality of interest of richer voters with other rich voters and with the establishment candidates. To a lesser extent voters were encouraged to vote as loyal Anglicans or religious Dissenters. To see how this rhetoric translated into action, a poll book (1774), a city directory (1775), and rate and tax returns (1773–7) were combined by nominal record linkage. Using the linked data we found that poorer Bristolians voted preferentially for anti-ministerial candidates and particularly for the radical candidate, while richer Bristolians tended to support the ministerial candidates. The divisions were clear when voting was compared with wealth (using fiscal data), and when compared with occupation provided an appropriate classification was used. To see if radical action was sustained in Bristol, loyal addresses and petitions for conciliation of the Americans were examined. The rhetoric surrounding petitioning/addressing again assumed commonality of interest based on socio-economic circumstance. This carried over into action: petitioners for conciliation tended to be poorer people, whilst addressers, who favoured coercion, tended to be richer. The study refutes the thesis that religion alone accounts for radical behaviour, and suggests the need to examine the totality of people's experience before their political behaviour can be fully understood. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives:To describe the use of dietary assessment methods in a cohort study.Subjects:The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) based in Bristol, UK, a cohort of children born in 1991/1992 and their parents.Methods and Results:Data were collected about maternal and paternal diet, breastfeeding, weaning and childhood diet by both food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and unweighed diet records (children only). Other questionnaires have covered socioeconomic background and eating behaviours. Nutrient and food group intakes were calculated from both FFQ and diet records. These were used singly and in combination to assess the contribution of diet to various growth and development outcomes in the children and in relation to socioeconomic position and other behaviours. Both methods provided important contributions to knowledge and have enhanced each other, allowing the development of the assessment instruments as experience in their use was gained. Statistical analysis methods such as the use of dietary patterns to summarize the diet were explored.Conclusions:Longitudinal cohort studies are greatly enhanced if dietary assessment methods are built into their design. The use of more than one method of dietary assessment can increase the scientific usefulness of a study.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, S38–S44; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2008.63 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some of the issues around the agenda for workforce reform as it applies to professionals who work in early years classrooms (4-7 year olds), who work alongside class teachers in supporting learning. Their changing roles, responsibilities and professional identities are examined through a small scale case study of four women, two nursery nurses and two teaching assistants, from an infants school in a suburb of Bristol. Their close professional and personal relationships with the six female class teachers with whom they work are considered. Their stories are analysed for their significance as women whose levels of skill and dedication are undervalued in terms of career structure, salary and job security. Whilst contributing to the debates around the changing roles and the valuable work of teaching assistants, this research endorses the view that these professionals' voices are too often silenced in educational debates and in strategic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Involving members of the public in setting priorities for health research in becoming increasingly common practice. One method used in public involvement exercises is the citizens' jury. Objective This article examines some challenges and benefits of citizens' juries, including issues relating to process, public engagement and outcome. Design In Bristol, UK, a citizens' jury was held with the aim of identifying local priorities for research into health and social care. This jury is used as an example through which key issues in public involvement and jury processes are explored. Setting and Participants The Bristol Citizens' Jury comprised 20 members of the public (`jurors'), an oversight panel and a steering group. The jurors met at 11 consecutive sessions during 2006 over a period of 16 weeks, which culminated in a written report. All the sessions were audio-recorded, five sessions were observed and video-recorded, and 16 jurors completed written feedback forms at the end of the jury process. Findings and conclusion In this article we discuss degree and timing of public involvement in the process of health research; the role of context; representation of communities; processes of deliberation and knowledge production; and how constraints of time and cost may affect public involvement. It was clear that jurors who took part in the Bristol Citizens' Jury were engaged and committed. This engagement may be related to jurors' belief in their ability to shape future research alongside concern about the relevance of the issues under discussion. Opposing emotions of tension and harmony are a crucial part of the deliberation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses qualitative data from a study of young adults aged 20-34 in Bristol to explore the labour market transitions considered typical of contemporary advanced economies.The main objective of the article is to develop a typology of labour market pathways that illuminates the complexity and variability of lengthened youth transitions. In addition to this typology we explore the economic: consequences of these pathways for young adults, showing that they are vulnerable to job change, unemployment and low pay. Finally, we explore the attitudes of young adults to their situation. We found that they were surprisingly undismayed by these labour market vicissitudes: many of them displayed a 'structure of feeling' we refer to as 'internalized flexibility', which helps them to maintain optimism and anticipate change in a challenging economic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on a paper by S. Barclay and others about non-response to a single questionnaire and the important use of reminders to increase response rates. Results of a study of routine non-response by general practioners (GP) to five questionnaires between 1994-1999 in Bristol, England; Argument against claim that response rates to GP questionnaires are falling.

The article examines the voyage of the ship Matthew of Bristol in 1497 and the extent to which the expedition was rooted in Bristol commerce in England. The history of the Matthew and resituating the ship in her local maritime economy are explored. John Cabot's relationship with his Bristol backers is also examined.

Background: Patients are increasingly using complementary therapies, often for chronic conditions. Asthma is the most common chronic condition in the UK. Previous research indicates that some asthma patients experience gaps in their NHS care. However, little attention has been given to how and why patients and parents of children with asthma use complementary therapies and the implications for NHS care. Methods: Qualitative study, comprising 50 semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of 22 adults and 28 children with asthma (plus a parent), recruited from a range of NHS and non-NHS settings in Bristol, England. Data analysis was thematic, drawing on the principles of constant comparison. Results: A range of complementary therapies were being used for asthma, most commonly Buteyko breathing and homeopathy. Most use took place outside of the NHS, comprising either self-treatment or consultation with private complementary therapists. Complementary therapies were usually used alongside not instead of conventional asthma treatment. A spectrum of complementary therapy users emerged, including "committed", "pragmatic" and "last resort" users. Motivating factors for complementary therapy use included concerns about conventional NHS care ("push factors") and attractive aspects of complementary therapies ("pull factors"). While participants were often uncertain whether therapies had directly helped their asthma, breathing techniques such as the Buteyko Method were most notably reported to enhance symptom control and enable reduction in medication. Across the range of therapies, the process of seeking and using complementary therapies seemed to help patients in two broad ways: it empowered them to take greater personal control over their condition rather than feel dependant on medication, and enabled exploration of a broader range of possible causes of their asthma than commonly discussed within NHS settings. Conclusion: Complementary therapy use reflects patients' and parents' underlying desire for greater selfcare and need of opportunities to address some of their concerns regarding NHS asthma care. Selfmanagement of chronic conditions is increasingly promoted within the NHS but with little attention to complementary therapy use as one strategy being used by patients and parents. With their desire for selfhelp, complementary therapy users are in many ways adopting the healthcare personas that current policies aim to encourage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE:To determine the levels and patterns of physical activity in a sample of obese (≥99th percentile body mass index (BMI)) and nonobese (<99th percentile BMI) children.DESIGN:Cross-sectional study.SETTING:Children were recruited from schools in Bristol and from the childhood obesity clinic, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Children were instructed in the use of the accelerometer either while at school or in the clinic, and wore the instrument while carrying out their normal daily activities for 7 days.PARTICIPANTS:A total of133 children (mean age 10.5±0.8 y). In all 11 (16.9%) of the 65 girls and 14 (20.6%) of the 68 boys were classified as obese (above the 99th percentile for BMI and corresponding to projected adult BMI of 30).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Objectively measured physical activity volume, intensity and pattern.RESULTS:Obese children were significantly less physically active overall than their nonobese counterparts (31 844±13 200 vs 41 844±10 430 counts/h; 95% confidence interval 4407 to 15592; P=0.001). Similarly the obese children spent less time in physical activity of moderate or greater intensity than the nonobese children (9.9±3.9 vs 12.9±4.2 min/h; 95% confidence interval 1.15 to 4.80; P=0.002). Hourly patterns of activity indicated a tendency in obese children to be less active than nonobese children at times when activity was more likely to be determined by free choice, particularly outside of school time.CONCLUSIONS:Obese children demonstrated patterns of physical activity that may have contributed to and are likely to sustain their obesity. Minute-by-minute accelerometry is a valuable tool to investigate physical activity patterns in obese children. It can identify periods when intervention to increase activity may be most appropriate and provide an evidence base for specific exercise prescription in primary and secondary care.SPONSORSHIP:Health Education Authority, NHS R& D South–WestInternational Journal of Obesity (2005) 29, 1070–1076. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802993; published online 24 May 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Use of the femoral vein for intravenous access by injecting drug users (IDUs) (commonly called 'groin injecting') is a practice that is often observed but on which little is written in the literature. The purpose of this study was to describe selfreported data from a sample of groin injectors on the natural history and rationale regarding their groin injecting, to inform future research and the development of appropriate harm reduction strategies. Methods: A convenience sample of groin injectors willing to participate in a semi-structured interview were recruited through the Bristol Drugs Project Harm Reduction Service. The interviews were conducted over the period of one week. Data on transition to groin injecting, rationale for use and incidence of problems were collected. Results: Forty seven IDUs currently injecting in their femoral vein ('groin') were interviewed, 66% (n = 31) male and 34% (n = 16) female. Their mean age was 31 yrs (range 17 to 50 yrs; SD = 7.7). The mean length of time since first injecting episode was 9.6 yrs (range 6 mths to 30 yrs; SD = 7.0). The mean length of time since use of the groin began was 2.6 years (range 1 mth to 15 yrs; SD = 3.3). The mean length of time between first injection and first use of the groin was 7.0 yrs (SD = 7.0). One person had used no other area for venous access prior to using the groin, nine people had used one, nine people had used two, 10 people had used three, five people had used four and 13 people had used more than four areas. The main reason given for starting to inject in the groin was that 'no other sites were left'. However further discussion identified this meant no other convenient sites were accessible. Practises such as the rotation of injecting sites, as advocated in many harm reduction leaflets, were reported to be difficult and unreliable. The risk of missing the vein and subsequently losing the 'hit' was considered high. Use of the non-dominant hand to administer injections was problematic and deterred rotation between arms. The groin site was reported to be convenient, provide quick access, with little mess and less pain than smaller more awkward veins. The formation of sinuses over time facilitated continued use of the groin. Approximately two thirds of participants had experienced difficulty gaining IV access at their groin. Common problem included scar tissue occlusion, swelling and pain. Some reported infections and past history of deep vein thrombosis. Conclusion: Use of the groin was perceived to be convenient by the study group. Problems following safer injecting advice were identified, including dexterity difficulties leading to fear of losing the 'hit'. Health problems at the groin site did not deter use. These results suggest further qualitative work is needed to explore the difficulties in following safer injecting advice in more detail and inform the development of more appropriate advice. Further quantitative work is necessary to establish the prevalence of groin injecting amongst IDUs and the incidence of associated problems. There is a need for a longitudinal study to examine the relationship between injecting technique and loss of patency of veins. If protective factors could be identified, evidence-based safer injecting advice could be established to preserve peripheral veins and reduce use of the groin site, which is high risk and associated with serious adverse consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the accounts and role of churchwardens in parish government during the late medieval period in London and Bristol in England. Characteristics of the parish government during the late medieval period; Role of churchwarden in the parochial administration; Result of the case studies that examined the steps used in the compilation and auditing of parish accounts.

Discusses the claims and counterclaims regarding a study that examined the accounts of churchwardens in medieval England. Adequacy of the basis of the arguments used in the study; Comparison of the churchwardens' accounts in Bristol and London; Sufficiency of the statistical analysis of the churchwardens' accounts.

The article focuses on smuggling in Bristol, England during the middle 16th century. Smuggling is recognized as one of the most serious, and certainly most baffling problems in Great Britain. While most studies of the subject have concentrated on the eighteenth century, large-scale smuggling was not a new development in that period. The illicit trade of mid-sixteen-century Bristol is studied through records relation to and generated by merchant-smugglers. By carrying out record linkage between entries in merchant account books and by cross-referencing these to customs accounts and charter parties it is shown that while smuggling was widespread, it was, at least in the 1530-1540s, extremely narrowly defined. In particular it is argued that smuggling, or what contemporaries referred to as 'frauds,' was largely limited to two specific elements of the city's export trade. Nevertheless, it is shown that the great profits achievable in this large-scale and carefully organized trade made this an important business for the city's merchants. It examines the accuracy of the Bristol customs accounts of the 1530s and 1540s by comparing entries in the customs accounts for particular shipments with entries in independently generated commercial records that deal with the shipment of the same consignments. This comparison has used charter parties for part of the exercise.

The article explores the celebration of the feasts of Saint Clement and Saint Katherine in Bristol, England from 1400 through 1600. For the region, the pairing of the church celebrations seems focused especially on the structural tensions that characterized the late medieval community. Processions expressed in visible form the organization of the municipal government, and reinforced the relationship of the civic authorities to the burghal community. The feast of Saint Katherine together with its companion feast of Saint Clement confirmed the principle of unity which the late medieval borough community proclaimed.

(1) Data on 1141 foxes from London and 1701 foxes from Bristol were used to describe the demography of two urban fox populations. These data were combined with the results of a mark-recapture study in Bristol and used to construct population models. The results demonstrate that the calculated parameters from the demographic study produce stable populations. (2) The structure and monthly mortality patterns of the two populations were compared.. The total fox population for Bristol was 211 family groups; these comprised 716 adults producing 897 cubs per annum. Of these, 353 adults and 363 cubs survived to the following year. in London a comparable 211' family groups consisted of 578 adults producing 904 cubs per annum; of these, 263 adults and 315 cubs survived to the following year. (3) II is suggested that in London the fox control operations do not significantly reduce the number of fox family groups but reduce the total number of adult foxes and cubs in the population and hence mean family group size. In London, mortality rate in adults and cubs is higher than in Bristol, and a stable population is maintained by increased productivity. This is not achieved by altering litter size but by reducing the proportion of non-breeding vixens and the proportion of dog foxes in the cub and adult populations. (4) In Bristol the fox population structure remained constant irrespective of population density and hence habitat quality. Even in the most favourable urban habitats, when population density approached five fox family groups per square kilometre, sex ratio, productivity and mortality rates remained the same. (5) These data are discussed in relation to current ideas on fox social biology and to a rabies. control campaign in an urban area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) In two areas of Bristol, one 5.5 km [²], the other 3.2 km [²] fox litter counts in two consecutive years were used to estimate the number of fox groups. There were 3.64 family groups/km [²] in the smaller. In parts of the larger area densities of 4-5 family groups/km [²] were recorded. (2) To obtain data on the distribution and relative densities of foxes throughout Bristol nearly 88,000 school children were asked to record fox sightings for a period of one month. Since the absolute fox densities were known for two areas the distribution of recorded sighting could then be used to estimate fox densities throughout the city. By this means it was calculated that there were 211 fox family groups I an area of 116 sq km, a mean density of 1.82 fox family groups/km[²]. (3) Fox distribution in the city was uneven, and fox density was not found to correlate with household density, housing type, age of housing stock, or an other obvious habitat feature. There was a negative correlation (P< 0.001) between the distribution of stray dogs and urban foxes. This was attributed of the fox population by stray dogs. It is suggested that disturbance may be particularly important in the breeding season; dogs were the second major cause of mortality in young fox cubs. (4) Based on post-mortem material, it was calculated that the ratio of breeding to non-breeding vixen was 1:0.35, and so the adult fox population consisted of 211 males, 211 breeding females and 74 barren females. Assuming that all fox family groups breed each year, with a mean birth litter size of 4.80 (calculated from placental scars), the annual cub production would be 1013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]