Search

This paper uses the 1908 Oxford Report, a founding document for the Workers' Educational Association, as a window onto the internal contradictions of the university adult education movement, an issue that has been neglected by historians of education. Examining the early history of the WEA shows that while the movement was inspired by Oxford Idealism and set itself the aim of democratising higher education, it also drew support from people who intended to professionalise the university by introducing the principles of trained expertise and selection by merit. The confluence of Idealism and professionalism resulted in a ground-breaking but inconsistent educational programme outlined in the Oxford Report. This paper suggests that the attempt to simultaneously democratise and professionalise higher education was untenable and foreshadowed later tensions within the WEA movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution and role of psychologists, psychiatrists or mental health practitioners in working alongside forced migrants may take many forms. The guidance on which this paper is based, came about when several members of the British Psychological Society (including those with lived experience and insight and those who had set up services); became aware of the need for good practice guidance for clinicians working with refugees, asylum seekers including forced migrants across Britain. These guidelines cover a range of areas where clinicians work with individuals in clinical contexts, schools, nurseries, colleges and within community organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The United Kingdom and Australia have developed highly divergent policy responses to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). To understand the historical origins of these differences, we describe the history of tobacco control in each country and the key roles played in setting ENDS policy in its early stages by public health regulations and policy networks, anti‐smoking organizations, 'vaper' activist networks and advocates of harm reduction policies towards injecting drug use. Methods: We analysed key government reports, policy statements from public health bodies and non‐government organizations (e.g. cancer councils and medical organizations) on ENDS; submissions to an Australian parliamentary inquiry; media coverage of policy debates in medical journals; and the history of tobacco control policy in Australia and England. Key discourses about ENDS were identified for each country. These were compared across countries during a multi‐day face‐to‐face meeting, where consensus was reached on the key commonalities and divergences in historical approaches to nicotine policy. This paper focuses on England, as different policy responses were apparent in constituent countries of the United Kingdom, and Scotland in particular. Results: Policymakers in Australia and England differ markedly in the priority that they have given to using ENDS to promote smoking cessation or restricting smokers' access to prevent uptake among young people. In understanding the origins of these divergent responses, we identified the following key differences between the two countries' approaches to nicotine regulation: an influential scientific network that favoured nicotine harm reduction in the United Kingdom and the absence of such a network in Australia; the success of different types of health activism both in England and in Europe in opposing more restrictive policies; and the greater influence on policy in England of the field of illicit drug harm reduction. Conclusions: An understanding of the different policy responses to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in England and Australia requires an appreciation of how actors within the different policy structures, scientific networks and activist organizations in each country and region have interpreted the evidence and the priority that policymakers have given to the competing goals of preventing adolescent uptake and encouraging smokers to use ENDS to quit smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea that volunteering and civic action may both play a role within the work of voluntary organizations has a long historical legitimacy in England. However, recent policy trends appear to undermine notions that the critical expression of official views is acceptable. In particular, where voluntary organizations are engaged in service-level contracts with statutory agencies, engagement in the political sphere is seen as risky. This paper takes an historical and analytic perspective to examine the evolution of volunteering and civic action in England. It examines how different discourses have affected spaces for popular engagement of voluntary organizations over time and the degree to which these are changing. The paper considers ways in which the complex and dynamic variations of this engagement can be understood in the contemporary voluntary sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the situation of the English voluntary sector in relation to austerity-driven social policies. Existing characterisations are outlined and it is argued that the quantitative evidence used to represent the situation of these organisations to date has been partial because it relies too narrowly on financial resource input measures. We argue that the situation of these organisations needs to be conceptualised in a more holistic way and, to initiate a move in this direction, we identify and explicate two relevant dimensions: the perceived capacity of organisations to rely on volunteers for support (a non-financial resource input); and their perception of the effect of the policy climate in shaping their capacity to flourish, including their ability to perform multiple roles beyond service provision alone. We draw on an original mixed methods empirical study undertaken in England in 2015 to operationalise these dimensions, combining qualitative interviews with national ‘policy community’ members with a large scale on-line survey of social policy charities. We find a complex and variegated situation that, while acknowledging the fundamental importance of financial resource pressures, also points to the salience of the volunteering situation, and to the relevance of the challenging policy climate that these organisations have to navigate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interrogates the relationship between working-class participation in higher education ( HE) in England and social and cultural mobility. It argues that embarking on a university education for working-class people has been construed in governmental discourses as an instrumental means of achieving upward mobility, or of aspiring to 'become middle class'. Education in this sense is thus not only understood as having the potential to confer value on individuals, as they pursue different 'forms of capital', or symbolic 'mastery' ( Bourdieu, 1986), but as incurring a form of debt to society. In this sense, the university can be understood as a type of 'creditor' to whom the working-class participants are symbolically indebted, while the middle classes pass through unencumbered. Through the analysis of empirical research conducted with staff from working-class backgrounds employed on a university Widening Participation project in England, the article examines resistance to dominant educational discourses, which understand working-class culture as 'deficient' and working-class participation in HE as an instrumental means of securing upward mobility. Challenging the problematic notion of 'escape' implicit in mobility discourses, this paper concludes by positing the alternative concept of 'fugitivity', to contest the accepted relationship in HE between creditor and debtor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dementia-friendly communities ( DFCs) are a UK policy initiative that aims to enable people with dementia to feel supported and included within their local community. Current approaches to DFC creation rely on stakeholder involvement, often requiring volunteer assistance. There is though a lack of evidence that examines the reality of achieving this. This paper critically assesses the challenges and strategies for achieving stakeholder involvement in DFCs. The evidence base is drawn from an inter-agency project funded by the National Health Service in the South of England where seven DFCs were developed by steering group partners and four part-time project workers ( PWs). Data from the independent evaluation undertaken in the first year (2013-2014) of the project were analysed: 14 semi-structured interviews and a focus group examined PWs' experiences; while progress and key milestones are determined from monthly progress forms, good news stories, locality steering group minutes and press releases. Analysis was undertaken using a directed content analysis method, whereby data content for each locality was matched to the analytical framework that was drawn from Alzheimer's Society guidance. Challenges to achieving stakeholder involvement were identified as: establishing networks and including people representative of the local community; involving people affected by dementia; and gaining commitment from organisations. Strategies for achieving stakeholder involvement were recognised as: a sustainable approach; spreading the word; and sharing of ideas. By highlighting these challenges and the approaches that have been used within communities to overcome them, these findings form the foundation for the creation of DFC initiatives that will become embedded within communities. Stakeholder involvement is unpredictable and changeable; therefore, reliance on this approach questions the long-term sustainability of DFCs, and must be considered in future policies designed to enhance quality of life for people affected by dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the issue of how strategic-level partnerships, such as Local Safeguarding Children Boards, know about and learn from practice. The death of Baby Peter in Haringey exposed the dangers of reliance on numerical performance data alone to inform leaders about the true state of practice. The drivers for, and impact of, regulatory, media and political pressures on front-line practice and partnership behaviour are discussed with reference to the rise of organisational risk management and 'rule-based' responses (Munro, 2009). These are exacerbated by an overload of negative data about child protection systems which results in contagious 'attention cascades' which lead to over-simplification of complex issues and the rush to quick-fix solutions. This results in compliance-based responses designed to avoid 'blame', based on individualistic analyses of complex situations. Under these conditions, 'learning', such as from serious case reviews, can become regressive (how to avoid future culpability) rather than progressive (how to improve knowledge skills and practice). It is argued that understanding and improving practice require strategic partnerships to have engaged with front-line staff in order to access practice narratives as well as performance numbers, and to achieve an accurate and systemic analysis of the state of practice and how it can be improved. This calls for collective forms of knowing and reflecting and the paper concludes by describing examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1399 account roll of the Paternoster Gild of York, missing since the 1880s, has recently been discovered amongst papers donated to the Borthwick Institute, University of York. These accounts, edited at the end of this paper, reveal the names of over 150 gild members from all over the city of York and beyond and allow them to be placed within their social context, showing members and their families receiving bequests in each other's wills, and revealing several of them as members of the later Corpus Christi gild at York. The accounts also demonstrate the extent of the gild's property ownership and give details of preparations and purchases for the elaborate gild feast. The gild was responsible for performances of the Paternoster play, and examination of the accounts allows revision of confused, earlier reports of their contents relating to the plays. It is now clear that two pageants from the play are mentioned in the accounts, supporting Johnstone's suggestion that the play was based on seven pageants, each one reflecting one of the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer, matched against one of the seven deadly sins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the fourth ordinary meeting of the 116th session of the British Astronomical Association held at the New Hunts House, Guys Hospital in London, England. Papers secretary Nick James announced that six papers had been approved for publication in the journal. Hazel Collett, Meetings Secretary was invited to read the minutes of the previous meeting, which had taken place at the seventh Observers' Workshop in Milton Keynes.

Two distinguishing features of the New Labour Government have been its focus on regionalism and the establishment of a department of state, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), explicitly dedicated to ‘cultural’ policy. This paper tracks the development of a new set of regional cultural organizations, the Regional Cultural Consortiums (RCCs). These were established to contribute to regional development and to deliver the DCMS's national policy goals. The paper examines the RCCs' remit, challenges, achievements and prospects, and locates these in wider debates about evidence-based policy and continuity and change in cultural and regional policy. Particular consideration is given to the RCCs' research and data collection activities and their role in developing a move towards improved capacity in regional cultural research and data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typologies of government–voluntary sector relations mostly categorize nation-level situations, and omit consideration of intra-national differences. They are also rarely subject to empirical testing and subsequent theoretical development. This paper reports on research to apply Kuhnle and Selle's (2002) relational typology, which characterizes the experience of “Britain,” to a study of Scottish and English voluntary organizations' relations with government. Contrary to Kuhnle and Selle, the paper demonstrates — through survey data — a divergence between Scotland and England, within the “British” context, and advances the case for further testing of such conceptual typologies. The methodological challenges in moving from a theoretical framework to a research design capable of field application, using survey methods, are illustrated and discussed. Further directions for theoretically led work are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores dilemmas facing social work in England in providing anti-oppressive services for Travellers, particularly those who lack secure sites. A context is provided by outlining the conflict between Travellers and the majority society, and its expression in oppressive legislation, policy and practice. The implications of the corporate local authority role for relationships between Travellers and social services, and the specific history of Travellers and welfare, are also explored. The remainder of the paper draws on findings from a Nuffield-funded study of policy and provision by English social services departments for Traveller children and families. Provision is undermined by mutually difficult relationships between Traveller communities and social services, and competing demands on social services in relation to professional values and support of Travellers’ rights, and their simultaneous contribution to local authority control of unauthorized camping. However, newer developments in some social services departments may be able to generate more positive relationships with Travellers, to promote their individual and cultural rights, and build partnerships with voluntary agencies which have a significant role in work with Travellers. The implications for social services departments wishing to develop their policies and practice with Traveller families are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their environmental performance is now well recognised. This paper evaluates the contribution of the business-support network to the delivery of a range of services designed to encourage SMEs to adopt more environmentally sound practices by examining the work of an environmental non-governmental organisation working in the North West of England: Sustainability Northwest (SNW). SNW has attempted to catalogue, promote and co-ordinate the services provided by the business-support network in its area. The focus of this development has been the establishment of the Environmental Initiatives Database (ENID). This has provided further evidence that the bespoke, solution-driven services required by SMEs are not readily available. Furthermore, the increase in mutual awareness among members of the business support network, facilitated by ENID, appears to have done little to foster an atmosphere of greater cooperation and integration of services. In conclusion, the paper discusses possible reasons for this apparent impasse by outlining the rationale for a new initiative to enhance co-ordination among members of the business-support network: the Green Competitive Edge for the North West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: National Health Service (NHS) trusts, which provide the majority of hospital and community health services to the English NHS, are increasingly adopting a 'public firm' model with a board consisting of executive directors who are trust employees and external non-executives chosen for their experience in a range of areas such as finance, health care and management. In this paper we compare the non-executive directors' roles and interests in, and contributions to, NHS trust boards' governance activities with those of executive directors; and examine non-executive directors' approach to their role in board meetings.Methods: Non-participant observations of three successive trust board meetings in eight NHS trusts (primary care trusts, foundation trusts and self-governing (non-foundation) trusts) in England in 2008-9. The observational data were analysed inductively to yield categories of behaviour reflecting the perlocutionary types of intervention which non-executive directors made in trust meetings.Results: The observational data revealed six main perlocutionary types of questioning tactic used by non-executive directors to executive directors: supportive; lesson-seeking; diagnostic; options assessment; strategy seeking; and requesting further work. Non-executive board members' behaviours in holding the executive team to account at board meetings were variable. Non-executive directors were likely to contribute to finance-related discussions which suggests that they did see financial challenge as a key component of their role.Conclusions: The pattern of behaviours was more indicative of an active, strategic approach to governance than of passive monitoring or 'rubber-stamping'. Nevertheless, additional means of maintaining public accountability of NHS trusts may also be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Public Health Responsibility Deal (RD) in England is a public-private partnership involving voluntary pledges between government, industry, and other organisations to improve public health by addressing alcohol, food, health at work, and physical activity. This paper analyses the RD physical activity (PA) pledges in terms of the evidence of their potential effectiveness, and the likelihood that they have motivated actions among organisations that would not otherwise have taken place. Methods: We systematically reviewed evidence of the effectiveness of interventions proposed in four PA pledges of the RD, namely, those on physical activity in the community; physical activity guidelines; active travel; and physical activity in the workplace. We then analysed publically available data on RD signatory organisations' plans and progress towards achieving the physical activity pledges, and assessed the extent to which activities among organisations could be attributed to the RD. Results: Where combined with environmental approaches, interventions such as mass media campaigns to communicate the benefits of physical activity, active travel in children and adults, and workplace-related interventions could in principle be effective, if fully implemented. However, most activities proposed by each PA pledge involved providing information or enabling choice, which has limited effectiveness. Moreover, it was difficult to establish the extent of implementation of pledges within organisations, given that progress reports were mostly unavailable, and, where provided, it was difficult to ascertain their relevance to the RD pledges. Finally, 15 % of interventions listed in organisations' delivery plans were judged to be the result of participation in the RD, meaning that most actions taken by organisations were likely already under way, regardless of the RD. Conclusions: Irrespective of the nature of a public health policy to encourage physical activity, targets need to be evidence-based, well-defined, measurable and encourage organisations to go beyond business as usual. RD physical activity targets do not adequately fulfill these criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a study of policy making and central-local relations in the 1930s. The North Eastern Housing Association was a government sponsored body set up in 1935 to build and manage houses on behalf of local authorities in the Durham and Tyneside special area. The paper questions conventional explanations of the reasons for establishing the Association, and draws attention to a number of features which differentiated it from conventional non-profit housing providers at that time. The process of establishing the NEHA is shown to have taken place alongside the production of legislation which failed to give housing associations in general the kind of central role in housing policy being sought for them, and in the face of known opposition from local authorities in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing attention has focused on relational spatial entities as potentially embedding renewed and alternative paths of local development. This paper discusses the intertwining of an emerging relational configuration of space and the pursuit of post-industrial development, by analysing the formation of an organisational identity. The case of NewcastleGateshead (UK) is interpreted as a brand emerging from urban collective strategy-making, involving two partner cities, thus crossing administrative borders. By suggesting the importance of the emergence of ‘branded relational spaces’, research results stress the active role of a collective construction of meanings and their communication in the creation of relational spatial entities. This provides an opportunity to reflect on the extent to which branding, here interpreted as collective strategy-making, goes beyond mere communication and fosters an institutionalisation of the branded space, thus influencing the way in which local development is spatially and strategically conceived. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Information about the several papers discussed at the annual meeting of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain held at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in England on March 30 to August 2, 2006 is presented. Linguists had special sessions on morphology, and dynamic syntax. A list of linguists and their papers is presented.

ABSTRACT Parental mental illness, substance misuse and domestic violence are common risk factors for the maltreatment and neglect of children. Safeguarding children is everyone's responsibility, including professionals working primarily with adults. In the UK, Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) were established to ensure that all agencies work together to safeguard children. Many LSCBs developed multi-agency joint protocols to enhance collaboration, but there is limited evidence of their effectiveness. This paper reports findings from a cross-sectional survey of practitioner self-reported experiences of joint protocols, which was conducted in one inner London borough, to evaluate their impact on professional practice. A self-complete questionnaire administered to all professionals in adult mental-health and children's social care services in the borough yielded a response from 119 practitioners. The survey found that the protocols had been widely disseminated and provided clear guidance to practitioners. Practitioners perceived that they had increased awareness of the risk factors for safeguarding children and some had used the protocols to help them gain access to services for their clients. Practitioners also perceived that they had improved inter-agency working between children's social care and adult mental-health services. However, respondents indicated that positive interpersonal contact with practitioners from other agencies was equally important in promoting joint working and inter-agency collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a paper presented at the British Association of Interchurch Families 40th Anniversary Conference, Swanwick, UK, 23-25 August 2008. It is divided into two parts. The first part provides an introduction into the concept of 'domestic church', thereby referring briefly to its origins in the NT and in the early Church and focussing more extensively on its retrieval in the recent magisterial teaching of the Roman Catholic church. It is also asked in which areas of theology and faith practice the concept may be fruitful and where its possible shortcomings may lie. The second part explores what the significance of the concept could be for interchurch families and, vice versa, what interchurch families' specific contribution is to further developing the (idea of) domestic church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at the Annual Meeting of the British Neuro-oncology Society (BNOS) to be held at Preston, England on June 25-27, 2008. During the event attendees discussed various topics including the standard mortality of patients suffering from central nervous system (CNS) tumours, research spending and imaginative approaches to clinical research.

This is the second part of a paper based on one delivered at the AUA Annual Conference, Promoting Excellence in HE Management, at the University of Nottingham, 2-4 April 2007. It continues discussion of the application of employment legislation to university restructuring exercises, and in particular, the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations 2006, which appeared in the previous issue of perspectives. The application of these rules to transfers of departments and courses between universities is considered here.[image omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 introduced the role of the independent mental capacity advocate (IMCA). This is essentially a new safeguard for adults when they lack the capacity to make critical health and welfare decisions, particularly those without family or friends to represent them. IMCAs can have a statutory role in adult protection cases that is detailed in this paper. Advocacy Partners (AP) was one of seven organisations piloting this service in England before the service was introduced nationally in April 2007. AP is now commissioned to provide the IMCA service in 10 local authorities in the South East. Of the 270 cases referred to Advocacy Partners that have met the criteria for an IMCA since the Act was implemented, 38 were referred as part of adult protection proceedings. This early experience of IMCA involvement in adult protection cases is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of voluntary and community sector organizations in the delivery of public services is increasing and these changes bring new responsibilities and benefits to organizations that have the capacity to participate. There are concerns within the sector about the implications for citizenship and participation. The sector is highly dependent on volunteers yet little is known about how organizational change in response to new relationships with the statutory sector impact upon the commitment and well-being of people who volunteer. This paper addresses that gap in knowledge for older volunteers. Drawing upon collaborative research with a voluntary organization in the north of England, the authors explore the meanings and aspirations of volunteering for older people, and explain how and why changes associated with closer engagement with public service delivery and less grant dependency can be disempowering for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflects on a paper which explores the expertise and case-based teaching requirements in primary care and the results of the evaluation of an initiative for self-directed clinical learning across three primary care trusts in London, England. He considers the organizational perspective of clinical learning and the implications of learning initiatives for recruitment and retention of general practitioners. He also offers examples of the strategies adopted by the South London Organization of Vocational Training Schemes to consider the implications of sustaining a learning culture in a climate of organizational change.

The article highlights the meeting of the British Astronomical Association held on April 25, 2006, at the Geological Society, Burlington House in Piccadilly, London, England. The president opened the seventh Ordinary Meeting of the 115th session and invited Dr. Nick Hewitt to read the minutes of the previous meeting. Several papers were presented on a range of topics including outburses, orbits and oscillations.

The article highlights the Ordinary Meeting of the British Astronomical Association held on April 23, 2005, at the English Heritage Lecture Theater in London, England. The president opened the sixth meeting of the 115th session were 29 new members were proposed for election. Several papers were presented that discuss a range of topics including, quasars, black holes and galaxy formation, among others.

Presents information on the third annual conference of the International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility held in York, England from October 6 to 9, 2005. Title of the opening address delivered by David Nye; Speakers of the conference including John Walton, Michael Esbester and Michael Sibul; Topics covered by the papers presented at the event including transport and tourism.

This paper uses the Delphi method as a way of studying organisational and sector change. It provides a brief introduction to Delphi, its application to public management and its relevance to research on the transformation of social housing. It then describes an application to research on the future shape and structure of the housing association sector in England. The method is used to clarify areas of consensus and divergence, and to identify differences between types of association and key trends in sector transformation. Conclusions are presented on changing sector identity, governance, spatial level of operations, organisational scale and organisational form and on learning from this application of the Delphi method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was presented as the Eighth Annual Lecture of the Association of University Administrators on 12 October 2005 at the CBI Conference Centre, London [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the joint meeting of British Astronomical Association with Royal Meteorological Society at the Geological Society in Piccadilly, London, England. Acceptance of the new members proposed at the previous meeting; Accounts of the event; Announcement of the approval of a new paper to appear in the Association's Journal.

The article presents information on the proceedings of the 145th Meeting of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons. This meeting was held at Manchester, England on September 22-24, 2004. The research paper "Hearing Changes in Non-Enlarging Conservatively Managed Vestibular Schwannomas," presented at the meeting challenges the assumption that hearing will remain static in non-enlarging vestibular schwannomas, and therefore justify managing them expectantly as a means to preserve hearing. 1308 vestibular schwannomas referred to the senior author since 1977 were analysed to identify tumours treated conservatively.

There is an urgent need today for libraries of all sorts to have skilfull and communicative staff employed in their everyday public activities. As the experience from developed countries shows, most of them are trained librarians, although many could also be found within the ranks of such associations as the Friends of Libraries. In the United States they are the best ambassadors of libraries, in Australia there are no public libraries without local groups of library supporters. In England there are well known phenomena such as The Friends of Bodleian Library. The author of the paper argues in favour of supporting the activities of Friends of Libraries on both national and local levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management Studies would much rather deal with success than failure. Its treatment of failure is consequently peremptory, defining failure in simple, financial terms. Yet, failure is complex. This paper looks in detail at the case of the National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield, England. Though the Centre was an unmitigated disaster, individual managers were still able to interpret the part each played as successful. Why was the project outcome so much less than the sum of these individual parts? The dynamics of failure are intriguing. Understanding them would seem to be essential to understanding what brings about success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on social capital has explored trends in membership in voluntary organizations. However, there is currently little robust evidence on such trends in the UK since the 1970s, nor is there any analysis of whether participation bridges social divisions or accentuates them. This paper explores trends in participation in England and Wales since 1972 using data from the Social Mobility Inquiry of 1972 and the British Household Panel Survey of 1992 and 1999. We are concerned with social exclusion mechanisms in social capital generation in Britain over the three decades. Using binomial and multinomial models to 'unpack' the effects of socio-cultural factors on civic participation and on different types of associational membership, we test the thesis of across-the-board decline in social capital by Putnam (2000) and that of rising levels of middle-class social capital versus consistent low levels of working-class social capital by Hall (1999). The results show significant socio-cultural-gender differences, a relative stability of middle-class participation, and a rapid decline in the working-class access to social capital. We challenge the established accounts of both theses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families is guidance introduced by the Department of Health in England to improve assessment practice and promote better outcomes for children and their families. This paper considers ways in which the Assessment Framework can improve assessment practice in cases of child neglect. However, as with any national guidance, its effectiveness is dependent on local approaches to implementation. The author has undertaken practice development work around implementation with senior managers and frontline staff in area child protection committees (ACPCs) and social services departments. These experiences are used to explore the local issues and tensions encountered by both practitioners and managers responsible for implementing the Assessment Framework. An argument is made that these issues and tensions if not addressed can result in distorted assessments that lose the focus on the child. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To increase the uptake of research evidence in practice, responsive research services have been developed within universities that broker access to academic expertise for practitioners and decision-makers. However, there has been little examination of the process of knowledge brokering within these services. This paper reflects on this process within the AskFuse service, which was launched in June 2013 by Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, in North East England. The paper outlines the challenges and opportunities faced by both academics and health practitioners collaborating through the service.Methods: The authors reflected on conversations between the AskFuse Research Manager and policy and practice partners accessing the service between June 2013 and March 2017. Summary notes of these conversations, including emails and documents relating to over 240 enquiries, have been analysed using an auto-ethnographic approach.Findings: We identified five challenges to knowledge brokering in an institutional service, namely length of brokerage time required, limits to collaboration, lack of resources, brokering research in a changing system, and multiple types of knowledge.Conclusions: To understand and overcome some of the identified challenges, we employ Goffman's dramaturgical perspective and argue for making better use of the distinction between front and back stages in the knowledge brokering process. We emphasise the importance of back stages for defusing destructive information that could discredit collaborative performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hampshire LEA has carried out two longitudinal studies: from reception intake to the end of Year 2, and from the end of Year 2 to the end of Year 6. A total, respectively, of 161 and 114 schools and about 6400 and 4700 pupil records have been analysed. Test scores at baseline (entry to reception), Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 have been used, together with pupil and school level variables. Multilevel models have been fitted and show that schools differ along several dimensions, both by curriculum subject and by prior attainment of pupil. The research sought ways of communicating the results to head teachers in ways which were meaningful without destroying the underlying complexity of the relationships uncovered. The paper describes how this can be done, in ways which can assist the process of school improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the research paper which reflects on methods used by the Freshwater Biological Association to reduce the number of pike in Lake Windermere, England. Pikes reduced the food for the trouts, which are the most important fishes in the lake. The study found out that the long lining method caught more pikes but also eels and trout which could not be returned alive.

This article presents abstracts of papers presented at the Annual Meeting of the Applied Vision Association held at Langdale Hall, Manchester, England on April 8-10, 1991. The theme of the meeting was perceiving degraded images. Recent and impending developments in the field of video communication include the development of low-cost digital video-telephone system. These systems will necessitate restrictions on the values of certain screen parameters because of the limited bandwidth available for the video signal.

Presents several summaries of the papers given at the 1990 Annual Conference of the Educational Television Association, held at the University of York. `The Implications of the Broadcasting Bill,' by Colin Shaw; `Resourcing the National Curriculum,' by Michael Scarborough; `Training Educational Producers,' by Paul Welliver.

This paper is based on a talk given at a joint meeting of the London Mathematical Society and the British Society for the History of Mathematics held in Oxford on 13 May 1995. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification 01A60, 46-03, 47-03. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on several papers discussed during the third Translantic Gene Therapy Consortium (TAGTC) workshop on gene therapy that was held at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, England on October 2-3, 2007 is presented. The event primarily highlights the discussion concerning the developments in gene therapy relevant to vector development and clinical trials. Presenters and attendees of the workshop include scientist Boris Feshe, Alex Schambach and Manuel Grez.

The article presents some of the highlights of the 14th United Kingdom Public Health Association annual forum held in West Midlands, England. The event addressed issues relating to overcoming health inequalities, promoting sustainable development and dealing with anti-health forces. Papers presented during the conference focus on public health issues and social marketing interventions. Attendees include Health State Secretary Patricia Hewitt and speakers Derek Wanless and Melvyn Hillsdon.

Provides information on the Annual General Meeting of the Applied Vision Association which was held in Bristol, England on March 31, 2004. Changes in the association; Topics discussed during the meeting; Papers presented during the conference.

Reports on the conference of the Association for High Speed Photography and Photonics held at the University of Westminster in Harrow, England in the autumn of 2001. Attendance of the conference; Lecturers; Recipient of the Rendell Award for the best paper submitted in the conference.

Provides updates on the different programs and projects launched by the Society for Applied Philosophy of London, England as of September 1998. Solicitation of philosophical research papers; Essay writing contest on the topic of ethical philosophy; List of topics which will be discussed at the workshops sponsored by the society in Great Britain.

Information about several papers discussed at a symposium "War and Peace in the Qajar Era" at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, England in 2005 is presented. The International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA) conducted the symposium focusing on the themes of photography. There are 17 papers that discuss during the conference with keynote speeches of Dr. Rudi Matthee and Dr. Homa Katouzian.