Search

A number of countries in Europe, including the UK, have adopted language and citizenship tests or courses as a requirement for granting citizenship to immigrants. To acquire citizenship, immigrants to the UK must pass a test on British society and culture, or demonstrate progress in the English language. For those with an insufficient command of the language, there is the option in the UK of taking an English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) with citizenship course. These language and citizenship tests and courses are seen by governments as a way of encouraging immigrants to develop the competences believed necessary for social integration. Equally, these are seen as a means for immigrants to demonstrate their willingness to integrate. However, two types of criticisms have been made against compulsory tests and language programmes. The first questions the need for these. The second focuses on whether they are a genuine contribution to preparation for citizenship or whether these, in effect, constitute a gatekeeping mechanism, or otherwise lead to social injustice; related to this is the question of whether the emphasis on language as defining of nationhood and citizenship is a move away from multiculturalism towards a policy of assimilation. In addition, there are issues relating to funding. This paper presents the results of a study of a 'skills for life' ESOL course at a community college in London that is specifically intended to help immigrants seeking to qualify for British citizenship. An interview was carried out with staff involved in ESOL at the college, and a focus group discussion was conducted with a student group. The aim of the paper is to provide an account of the experiences of the students in the light of the criticisms that have made against compulsory tests and language programmes. We also examine the impact of policy changes, including funding cuts, on the college and students. Although we found the language and citizenship class to be a positive experience, we note inconsistencies and contradictions in policies and discourses around language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, as elsewhere in Europe, government policy aims to reduce the use of private cars for consumer shopping trips. One major instrument of policy aims to ensure that new retail development is located in places accessible by all transport modes. This paper reviews the effectiveness of this and other such policies through analysis of survey evidence relating to routine shopping behaviour in the UK. It appears that these policies are likely to have little impact upon shopping travel, given the advantages to the consumer of private car use. However, demographic trends and increasing use of the Internet for food shopping are likely to stabilize or even reduce the use of private cars in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the important changes to the European Union (EU) policy-making process within the UK core executive introduced by the Blair government between 1997 and 2007. Employing a strategic-relational network framework, it sets out to map the changing face of policy-making within the Whitehall EU network, and to evaluate and explain the impact of adaptation. The article argues that Labour's reform strategy has been double-edged: day-to-day coordination of EU policy has become increasingly informal, ad hoc and delegated downwards to departmental players while the role of the centre has been greatly strengthened in order to provide more effective strategic direction and political leadership. Despite these seemingly coherent reforms, however, many critical features of the process have been potentially detrimental to the projection of a more constructive European policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent do European state topographic maps exhibit unique styles of cartography? This paper describes an investigation to classify and analyse stylistic diversity in the official 1 : 50 000 topographical mapping of 20 European countries. The method involves the construction of a typology of cartographic style, based upon the classification of distinct graphical legend symbols into mutually exclusive thematic categories. In order to identify stylistic similarities between national symbologies, hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to compare the relative proportions of symbols within each category. This was complemented by a qualitative analysis of various aspects of cartographic design: colour, 'white' space, visual hierarchy, and lettering. The results indicate a high degree of stylistic diversity throughout Europe, with the symbologies of Great Britain and Ireland demonstrating the strongest example of a supranational style. The typology of cartographic symbologies is shown to be an effective method for determining stylistic association among maps of differing geographical (and potentially historical) origins and it is suggested that the cartographic language paradigm should be revisited as a means for understanding why national differences persist in state cartography. A version of this paper was presented at the Twenty-third International Cartographic Conference in Moscow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna Process is fostering a change in higher education systems in order to attain the objectives of educational convergence, comparability and mobility of students and academics. As a consequence, the structure of degrees, syllabuses, pedagogy and evaluation and assessment systems (for students, teaching staff and programmes) must be revised. The present paper presents a comparative analysis from an accounting education perspective of the educational context in the United Kingdom (UK) and Spain identifying differences in their institutional characteristics, culture, etc. This paper evidences that a comparative analysis of the conditioning factors of the change will be necessary to facilitate any implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on evidence from the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, this paper explores how people have responded to flood warning information and how these responses impact upon the effectiveness of a flood warning through saving lives and injuries, and reducing economic damages. Methods of flood warning that the public rely upon are discussed alongside empirical evidence of how flood victims prepare for, and respond to, flood warnings in rapid to mediumonset floods. The paper investigates why some members of the public fail to act appropriately, or most effectively, to flood warning information, touching on ideas of a lack of understanding, mistrust in authority and a lack of ownership of flood reducing actions. The paper examines the styles of public learning about flood warning response which might be most appropriate and effective, and how recent positive steps to increase the publics understanding of effective response might be further enhanced in the United Kingdom. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores eighteenth-century Scottish military service in a way that moves beyond debates about its role in the formation of Britishness. It makes some comparisons with Irish experience, and argues that many Scottish soldiers of the time were part of a wider European fraternity of military men. A study of their lives provides us with a window onto a comparatively neglected bigger subject – European consciousness among the eighteenth-century British and Irish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the results of the literature on the ranking of centers of excellence in economics. There are two objectives: (1) to examine the evolution during the 1990s of certain features of economics research—such as the gap that exists between the US and the rest of the world, the dominant position of the UK within Europe, and the low productivity of economic scholars everywhere—and (2) to document the significant progress that Spanish research institutions have experienced during this period. Results by several broad fields of specialization are summarized here for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising wage inequality in the United States and Britain and rising continental European unemployment have led to a popular view in the economics profession that these two phenomena are related to negative relative demand shocks against the unskilled, combined with flexible wages in the Anglo-Saxon countries, but wage rigidities in continental Europe (‘Krugman hypothesis’). This paper tests this hypothesis based on seven large person-level data sets for the 1980s and the 1990s. I use a more sophisticated categorization of low-skilled workers than previous studies, which exhibits differences between German workers with and without apprenticeship training, particularly in the 1980s. I find evidence for the Krugman hypothesis when Germany is compared with the United States. However, supply changes differ considerably between countries, with Britain experiencing enormous increases in skill supply explaining the relatively constant British skill premium in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how to achieve flexibility in fiscal policy without sacrificing credibility or independence in monetary policy. The idea is to create a framework that generates fewer conflicts between policies but greater discipline within them. We assume an independent central bank and restraints on national fiscal policies. Using a theoretical model, we examine the consequences of assigning leadership to fiscal policies in order to exploit the implicit (but rule based) coordination available under standard transmission mechanisms and to allow priorities and targets to differ between policy makers. This works best when leadership takes the form of a debt rule (with hard or soft targets) to precommit fiscal policies over the longer term; but monetary independence to guarantee the credibility and discipline in the short term policies. Compared to the uncoordinated policies operating in Europe, inflation biases and debt/deficit ratios are both lower for no loss in output volatility. That matches the experience of the UK, an economy whose empirical reaction functions show fiscal leadership. On a wider sample of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, the gains from debt targeting are estimated at 2–4% of gross domestic product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy-makers in the UK and Europe have become concerned with the successful management of transitions in learning as a means of increasing the competitiveness of their economies. Transitions relating to informal as well as formal learning have also been an important focus for the sociology of education. In this paper, I review alternative ways in which transitions are conceptualised as a process of change over time; but argue that the dimension of change has been overemphasised, while the dimension of time has been neglected. Much of the literature on transitions takes for granted a 'common sense' view of time as a 'natural flow' and assumes that learning can enable us to forge our own futures agentically from lessons of the past and goals in the present. Feminist research, however, challenges such a theory as androcentric, and reveals the many ways in which women's time is used and experienced differently. Drawing on critical sociological thinking about time, these ideas are illustrated through a re-interpretation of data from Mojab's (2006) study of Kurdish women refugees in Sweden. This explores the ways in which time is engendered and enacted in social practices marked by gender, race and class, and the impact of these times upon the women's learning. The potential of such an analysis points to the need for further study of these themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response to a study on whether terrorism is a force for urban dispersal or whether terrorism drives people together is presented. It cites the costly travel effect and the city walls effect which counter the tall targets effect. The author says that terrorism is in decline in Europe and North America, but is on the rise in the Middle East. The incidence of terrorism in large cities in the U.S. and Great Britain which is indicative of the tall targets effect is mentioned. The article elaborates on the correlation between terrorism and urban land use.

This paper questions why the 'West' and in particular European states came to achieve a global dominance in naval warfare, a process which began in the fifteenth century and continues today as a result of the massive investment made by the United States in a fleet that is truly global in scale. What Black demonstrates is that this dominance was not inevitable or technologically predetermined, but was due to specific social, cultural, political, economic and strategic factors which sometimes caused non European naval powers to limit the development of a more aggressive deep ocean capability or to ignore it entirely. In contrast, in the case of major European powers like Great Britain and France, a combination of fortunate circumstances and intense military competition, which manifested itself as 'arms racing', resulted in an aggressive policy that exploited technological and organisational developments in the naval domain to the fullest extent possible. As a result, by the late eighteenth century there was no countervailing maritime power capable of limiting European maritime expansion. The paper explains how the Europeans, and in particular the British, consolidated and reinforced their naval supremacy in the nineteenth century and questions why this naval revolution has endured in the shadow of the more commonly known revolution in land warfare which took place at about the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wet grasslands are being restored across the UK and Europe to reinstate their high biodiversity following over 50 years of drainage and conversion to arable agriculture. The water balance of many wet grasslands is dominated by precipitation and evaporation and it is essential to quantify evaporation rates to understand the hydrological functioning of wetlands and the implications for water resources in catchments where wetlands are being restored. This paper considers data from direct measurements of evaporation from the Pevensey Levels wet grassland using the eddy correlation method. Equations are derived to predict actual evaporation using meteorological data on the site or from standard meteorological station observations. It was found that evaporation could be estimated reliably from meteorological variables, such as wind speed, temperature and humidity and by water availability. It was also found that when water availability is high, evaporation is high and may exceed reference evaporation values, raising questions over the deployment of the two-step Penman-Monteith model unless reliable crop coefficients and relative evaporation figures can be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For transport systems the issues of pricing, service quality, funding and investment in urban areas are inextricably interdependent. The paper first argues that no policy can be set for any of these aspects of transport in isolation from any other. Transport planners and urban policy-makers can choose to tolerate congestion, or build new capacity or introduce road user charging. These issues are explored and analysed in the context of London—Europe's most obviously resurgent city and the one with the most recent experience of road pricing in the form of the Congestion Charge. However, despite the evidence that in the centre, where it applies, the Congestion Charge has had broadly the effects economic theory would predict, there is still a growing problem for the rest of London and the UK caused largely by the combined effects of rising real incomes and the improving fuel efficiency of cars which reduces the impact of fuel taxes. This suggests a growing pressure for a national system of road pricing. To date ‘prices’, in the form of fuel duty (over £0.50 out of each £0.80 for a litre of fuel) have been set on the basis of historical precedent or political expediency. The paper sets out a regionally based model to analyse the implications of setting alternative levels of congestion charging and environmental taxes covering the whole of England. This includes modelling the implications for other transport modes and the net changes accruing to drivers and the Exchequer. Having presented the implications of some alternative policies, the paper discusses a number of the issues of political economy that would have to be resolved. While there seems to be little alternative to user charging in some form sooner or later, the sooner it can be introduced the more good it can do. However, the difficulties are real, less tractable than some people appear to believe and they have to be identified and dealt with. Perhaps the most significant unresolved problem is not the technical feasibility of such a system of national road pricing, but finding an appropriate, accountable and acceptable method for overseeing and administering the funds such a system would generate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we review – from a UK perspective – how the UK government and its policy process have adapted to European integration. Has adaptation been a quiet revolution, a step-change, or both? In exploring this question we draw upon the conceptual literature of Europeanization. We employ it to shed light on the longer-term pattern of UK adaptation as well as to put into context the domestic changes currently under way. Our argument is that a step-change is under way in the Europeanization of the UK government. However, at the end of the paper we will reflect on how this development remains over-shadowed by broader circumstances: the continued weak public support for the EU and the divisions which emerged with key EU partners from the UK's policy over Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current discussion in Europe focuses closely on (partial) labour market de-regulation as a means to combat constantly high (youth) unemployment. The paper argues that this perspective is too narrow and fails to account for existing national institutional differences. It suggests that the focus should instead be on a combination of different institutional settings, rather than on single aspects. This general issue is approached by investigating the labour market entry process and its determinants in three European countries: West Germany, Italy and Great Britain. These countries differ substantially in their combinations of relevant institutional aspects: labour market regulation, and the education and training systems. Consequently, they display three distinct patterns of labour market entry. Great Britain is characterised by rapid but rather unstable market entry, whilst market entry in Germany is also rapid but relatively stable. The main problems exist in Italy, where first job searches are very protracted. However, once jobs have been found, they are rather stable. Despite substantial deregulation efforts in Italy over the past decade, this situation has changed little. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins by defining the meaning of the term ‘maritime policy’. Since devolution in the UK, the opening of the new Scottish parliament in 1998 and the creation of the Scottish Executive, little effort has been made to establish a distinct maritime policy for Scotland. As was evident prior to devolution, the primary emphasis from any maritime policy perspective has continued to be a focus on lifeline island ferry services. This ignores significant developments in several other key maritime transport sectors, and this paper provides examples of areas that require some form of policy response, including intra-European short sea shipping, UK coastal shipping, urban/river transport and global container shipping. Long-standing institutional bias against maritime transport coupled with subsidy devoted almost entirely to land transport systems has resulted in a quite distorted marketplace. This suggests that a maritime policy is now imperative if maritime transport is to play a more significant role in the overall transport system. Further discussion centres on the need to consider, from a Scottish policy perspective, the role of various state-sponsored maritime service providers and how these bodies might fit better within evolving policy. The conclusion is that formulation of a maritime policy by the Scottish Executive is overdue and that a degree of restructuring of transport responsibilities within the Executive, combined with adequate resource allocation towards the maritime industry, will be necessary in order that market distortions can be overcome, so enabling Scotland to fully exploit the competitive and environmental advantages that maritime transport can provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European pensions debate continues with vigour as companies take action to address defined benefit (DB) scheme deficits and the UK has already passed legislation to protect scheme members. It is the intent of this paper is to provide insight into how Fitch assesses the impact of pension liabilities as part of its credit rating process. It will also cover the increased pressure placed upon UK corporates to channel incremental funds into defined benefit pension schemes, a measure which is likely to constrain operating and financial flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses upon cross-border acquisitions. A three-way comparison is made between the post-takeover performance of UK acquirers of domestic UK, US, and Continental European targets between 1991 and 1996. This study examines if UK firms acquiring large takeover targets experience cumulative abnormal returns significantly different from zero up to two years after the acquisition. This study finds that UK firms acquiring large takeover targets experience negative cumulative abnormal returns over the period examined, at various significance levels. Furthermore, the study finds that the post-takeover performance of UK firms acquiring UK targets is superior to that of UK firms acquiring US targets. In turn, the performance of UK firms acquiring US targets is better than that of UK firms acquiring Continental European targets. If this trend continues, the consequences for institutional investors and pension funds, which respond to a major takeover by increasing their holdings in the acquirer, could be serious. The shares they are buying are the very companies we show to be underperforming. And the particularly poor performance of UK companies acquiring in Europe suggests that this anomaly may become even more significant as European cross-border activity gathers pace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, several approaches have been proposed for the application of control banding concepts to the assessment and management of various workplace health and safety risks. Whilst many of the earlier approaches have originated in the UK, several of the most recent examples have been developed in Europe. The European schemes have attempted to build upon the lessons learned from the earlier control banding schemes and to apply them to new areas of health and safety. This paper analyses the evolution of the earlier approaches and reviews the more recent European developments in the context of continuing regulatory and societal demands for the improved assessment and regulation of workplace chemical risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I am applying a rights-based approach to childhood social exclusion that, following Sen's capability approach as one formulation of such a rights-based approach, sees social exclusion as the failure of people to have access to critical capabilities relating to their integration into society. The implications of this approach will then be applied to the relation between education and social exclusion, where it is shown that education has a critical impact on mitigating or reinforcing social exclusion. Taking such a capabilities-based approach implies a shift away from a concentration on average achievement generated by an education system to the low end of the achievement distribution and the ability of the education system to raise the performance and integrate the most disadvantaged students. The paper investigates how education systems in Europe and other industrialized countries are achieving this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the findings of a case-study research on the role of British property consultants in consolidating a transnational market for property in Europe. It examines comparatively the incorporation of Madrid and Milan into networks of transnational property investment and development and seeks to clarify the relationship between the expansion strategies of British firms and changes in property market structures in both cities. The focus is on the dynamic of the relationship between the consultancy firms and the different legal, institutional and cultural contexts of those property markets. The paper looks at the implications of that relationship for the firms and the markets, and at the role of the firms' strategies in bringing about market structures, practices and cultures compatible with the types of interest they mediate. The paper suggests that the structures and dynamics of the two markets have set a number of reasonably well-defined routes of entry for the consultancy firms, shaped by the different response of the institutional, cultural, economic environments of each city to similar pressures towards market internationalization. These alternative possibilities of insertion into the evolving relations of provision of commercial property have conditioned how firms have developed in the markets and how they have related to processes of market change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies and seeks to resolve the paradox that British social policy appears to have diverged from its EU partners in the period since membership and to have converged with that of the USA. Existing historical institutionalist approaches stress common regime characteristics of Britain and the USA in explanation of British difference from other member states. The present paper challenges such accounts and argues that the explanation lies in the transformation (and demise) of the post-Imperial/Commonwealth system of political economy in which the British economy (and related social policy) was embedded. This transformation has also produced internal problems within the British state giving rise to its reorganization with devolved Assemblies in Scotland and Wales. The final part of the paper addresses how this latter development has created a 'fault-line' in the British social policy debate with the possibility of reversing the trend toward Americanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Interdisciplinary collaboration and communication during dental training has become an increasingly influential idea within dental schools, both in the United Kingdom and European contexts. Research into this curriculum innovation has provided evidence to argue that benefits accrue both in terms of professional understanding and the development of dental professional learning dispositions.Objective This study investigates the interactions within a trainee dental team. In particular, the paper reports the professional experiences and development of trainee dental technicians and undergraduate dental students during a prolonged shared learning exercise in a combined UK university dental school and hospital.Methods Using a qualitative approach with a phenomenological framework, data sources included reflective diaries, focus group interviews and participant feedback.Results Eleven major domains were identified that accurately characterised the participants' beliefs, thoughts and practices. The results indicate that both trainee dental technicians and undergraduate dental students were pragmatic but positive in terms of their expectations of shared learning. In particular, they regarded the exercise as useful in terms of communication and understanding each other's role. Evidence also indicated the presence of original elements such as crisis of confidence and feelings of awkwardness that do not arise in other studies.Conclusions The implications for dental education are that for effective professional collaboration during training to take place a merger of interests among educators and policy developers in dental education must occur, and the challenges encountered within practice cultures must somehow be overcome. Therefore, more investment in evaluating research into interprofessional learning in dentistry would contribute to our knowledge about the place and role of interprofessional education in the professional dental curriculum and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A child's disability, long-term illness, or mental ill-health is known to affect siblings' health, social life, school engagement, and quality of life. This article addresses a research gap by its focus on young sibling carers and the impact of providing care to a sibling. A cross-national survey study was conducted in 2018–2019 (Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK) to examine the incidence of adolescent sibling carers, the extent of care they provide, and their self-reported health, well-being, and school situation. The survey was completed by 7146 adolescents, aged 15–17, and 1444 of them provided care to family members with health-related conditions. Out of these, 286 were identified as Sibling Carers and 668 as Parent Carers, while 181 had both sibling(s) and parent(s) with health-related conditions, and thus were identified as Sibling–Parent Carers. Sibling Carers and Sibling–Parent Carers carried out higher levels of caring activities compared to Parent Carers. They reported both positive aspects of caring, such as increased maturity, and negative aspects, such as mental ill-health, impact on schooling and a lack of support. To reduce the negative aspects of a sibling carer role, it is important to recognise them and to implement early preventive measures and formal support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a lack of studies comparing the status of dental specialties worldwide. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the differences and similarities between the number and types of dental specialties in 31 countries, including every continent, in the world. Materials and methods: Available official documents and webpages from regulatory bodies, official colleges and councils, and dental institutions were collected from 31 countries and analyzed to obtain reliable data on dental specialties. Differences were analyzed using the Lorentz curve and Gini test. Additionally, a cluster analysis was performed to obtain groups of countries with similar patterns in the number and types of dental specialties. Results: A total of 32 different specialties were officially recognized among all the analyzed countries. Orthodontics and oral surgery (100% and 93.1%, respectively) were the two most frequently officially recognized dental specialties worldwide. The total global degree of inequality in the 31 analyzed countries was 42.4%. The Anglo-Saxon countries showed the greatest similarity, approximately 15-fold higher than the European countries. Cluster analysis differentiated six main groups of countries according to the number and types of dental specialties. European countries formed one of the two largest clusters, and the other cluster was of Anglo-Saxon, Asian, African, and several Eastern European countries with a high number of specialties. Conclusions: Officially recognized dental specialties in the different continents and countries show an asymmetric organization. The number, names, and skills of officially recognized dental specialties exhibited significant differences, showing inequalities in their organization. The Anglo-Saxon pattern of dental specialties showed greater equality than the European pattern. Orthodontics was the only constant element among the different patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to report on the cardiorespiratory assessments, interventions, and outcomemeasures used by physical therapists with critically ill patients and the impact of COVID-19. Design: An anonymous international online survey of practice (through Google Forms) of physical therapists was conducted. Setting: The study was conducted in adult intensive care units. Participants: A total of 309 physical therapists participated in the study. Interventions: A survey was used to determine current cardiopulmonary physical therapy practices in ICU. Results: Predominantly participants were female (74%), aged 31 to 40 years (40%), havingworked in intensive care unit (ICU) for either 0 to 5 years (38%) or 11 to 20 years (28%), andworked full time (72%). Most participants worked in the United Kingdom (36%), Europe (21%), or Australia/Oceania (18%). The 3most frequently reported assessment indicators for cardiopulmonary physical therapy interventions were lobar collapse/atelectasis, audible secretions, and decreased/added lung auscultation sounds. The 3 most commonly used outcome measures included lung auscultation, arterial blood gas analysis, and transcutaneous arterial saturation. The 3 most commonly used physical therapy interventions ("very often" in a descending order) included patientmobilization, repositioning to optimize gas exchange, and endotracheal suctioning. For the COVID-19 cohort, participants reported similar use of patient repositioning to optimize gas exchange and postural drainage, and lower use of patientmobilization and endotracheal suctioning, deep breathing exercises, active cycle of breathing technique, and oropharyngeal suctioning. Conclusion: This survey reports on the characteristics of physical therapists who work in ICU, and their cardiopulmonary physical therapy assessments, interventions, and outcome measures most commonly used, inclusive of patients with COVID-19. There were some differences in interventions provided to the COVID-19 cohort compared with the non-COVID-19 cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research has questioned the stability of identities, we know little about identity change. I examine a political event as a driver of identity change, namely the Brexit vote. I contend that the act of voting, choosing between two options, boosts the European and British identity underlying the vote choice. I test whether the increased identification with Europe or Britain comes with a reduction in the other identity. Using British Election Study panel data in a two-way fixed-effects design, I show that voting to remain increases identification with Europe but voting to leave does not increase British identification for Leavers. However, voting has no impact on how Remainers identify with Britain or Leavers identify with Europe. The results contribute to the growing literature on the link between politics and identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the identities of Britain’s black middle-classes. Drawing upon interviews with seventy-two participants, I theorize a ‘triangle of identity’. This triangle emphasizes how black middle-class identities are constructed within the dynamics of three poles. Firstly, there is the class-minded pole whereby class comes to the fore as a conceptual scheme; secondly, there is the ethnoracial autonomous pole whereby ‘race’ is central to one’s identity and whiteness is actively resisted; and lastly there is the strategic assimilation pole, where one continually moves between classed and racialized spheres of action. This tripartite approach to identity builds upon previous research by further exploring the social, cultural and phenomenological distinctions within Britain’s black middle-classes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The political climate on immigration and diversity in various European societies has previously been analysed in relation to media representations, policy regimes and public opinion. This paper focuses more narrowly on how political climates affect migrant and post-migrant generations, as inhabitants of these European societies. We focus on the impact of ambivalence resulting from perceived lack of recognition as full citizens in European societies among migrants and their descendants. Ambivalence in relation to experiences of particular traits of the political climate is further connected with ideas about mobility-how migrants and descendants may think about return migration-what we discuss in terms of 'return imaginaries'. Culture, ideology and representations are seen as significant for contemporary politics, not only with expressive but also with formative roles. With this perspective, the analysis explores three politically heated areas of debate: about immigration control, about social cohesion and integration agendas and about terrorist attacks. These three areas were inductively selected, drawing on analysis of qualitative data collected among Pakistani origin migrants and descendants in Norway and the UK. The two countries of residence are purposefully chosen because they in different ways reflect political climates affected by the rise of xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is focused on a highly topical theme placed at the heart of international debates on regional security, namely the case of refugees in Europe. Approaching this theme is not the result of testing a purely theoretical assumption, but rather a reactive process driven by the need to understand a multitude of perspectives on one single reality. In this context, the author identifies a series of five so-called perspectives on the case of refugees in Europe and dysects each of them in order to detect their common and distinct features. This approach is completed by the clarification of terms used in this area and the theoretical framework on social construction of reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about Bronze Age round barrows and the ways in which they became caught up in human practices over an extended time period. At one level it belongs to a flourishing body of work that examines the ‘re-use’ or ‘biography’ of prehistoric monuments. Rather than treating the latter as a generic group, however, this study focuses on chronologies of one specific monument type—round barrows—over a 2600-year period from 1500 bc–ac 1086. By bringing together evidence and interpretations generated mainly within period specialisms, significant homogeneities are revealed in terms of how activities at prehistoric monuments have previously been understood. The possibilities for seeking out different interpretative ground are duly explored. Using a case study from the east of England and drawing on evidence and ideas from much more broadly, the approach taken places particular emphasis on examining relationships between round barrows and other aspects of landscape. The findings offer fresh insight into the temporality of activities undertaken at round barrows, question existing characterizations of past people's historical understandings, and explore the long-term coherence of ‘round barrows’ as a category. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Creative industries are increasingly understood to contribute to localised innovation and dynamism. This paper provides a methodologically consistent comparison of creative industries across France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. We map spatial agglomerations of creative activities showing evidence of urban concentration, which for Britain and France coincides with the dominance of capital cities, whilst for Spain and Italy, significant concentrations can also be found in secondary cities. The four countries also differ in the specialisation profiles and in the role played by policy makers. A lack of dove-tailing with the European Union smart agenda is argued to be a cause of concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progressive nature of Type 2 diabetes necessitates treatment intensification over time in order to maintain glycaemic control, with many patients ultimately requiring insulin therapy. While insulin has unlimited potential efficacy, its initiation is often delayed and improvements in glycaemic control are typically accompanied by weight gain and an increased risk of hypoglycaemia, particularly as HbA1c approaches and falls below target levels. This may account for the sub-optimal control often achieved after insulin initiation. Combining insulin with antihyperglycaemic therapies that have a low risk of hypoglycaemia and are weight-neutral or result in weight loss is a therapeutic strategy with the potential to improve Type 2 diabetes management. Although the effects differ with each individual class of therapy, clinical trials have shown that adding a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor or sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor to insulin regimens can offer a significant reduction in HbA1c without substantially increasing hypoglycaemia risk, or weight. The evidence and merit of each approach are reviewed in this paper. Once-daily co-formulations of a basal insulin and a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist have been developed (insulin degludec/liraglutide) or are under development (lixisenatide/insulin glargine). Insulin degludec/liraglutide phase III trials and a lixisenatide/insulin glargine phase II trial have shown robust HbA1c reductions, with weight loss and a low risk of hypoglycaemia. With insulin degludec/liraglutide now approved in Europe, an important consideration will be the types of patients who may benefit most from a fixed-ratio combination; this is discussed in the present review, and we also take a look toward future developments in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two NHS workers were recently disciplined after inappropriately accessing the records of the singer Ed Sheeran who had required treatment for a fractured wrist and elbow after falling from his bicycle (Embury-Dennis 2018). The increasingly common use of electronic records across the NHS now allows nurses, including district nurses, to access a large archive of patient information that was much more difficult to obtain when records were manually held paper records. There have been several instances where curiosity and, occasionally, more malicious reasons have led district nurses and others to access those records and read the notes of high profile patients or persons known to them. In this article Richard Griffith cautions that district nurses who access and read the record of a person who is not in their care is in breach of both their duty of confidence and the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679 EU ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers policy issues arising in the design, regulation and taxation of lotteries, focusing on the market for an on-line lottery game. Demand determines who buys lottery tickets and in what quantities. The design of lotteries affects the terms on which tickets are supplied. UK data suggest that its lottery may be priced too high to maximize lottery revenue more revenue might be raised if the proportion of sales allocated to tax and other levies were smaller. Having established the positive economics of lotteries, the paper then assesses their welfare implications. Pari-mutuel lotteries enjoy scale economies and, as natural monopolies, are invariably run either by government agencies or a regulated licensee. I estimate consumer surplus and identify the excess burden that arises from existing (over) taxation of lotteries. The large price elasticity of demand implies that revenue raised from the lottery is raised very inefficiently. Moreover, the demand for lottery tickets is inferior (and there is some evidence that such games are contagious and addictive). So using lotteries as a vehicle for raising revenue is extremely regressive. Finally, I consider other policy implications: induced effects on charitable giving and on other forms of gambling; the impact on the government budget; perceptions of risk; and distributional considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As football related disorders remain stubbornly impervious to 'solutions', so the study of football hooliganism has become almost a minor branch of the social sciences. This paper looks critically at the main academic approaches to the problem in the UK and Europe. The shortcomings of much of this work are revealed, both theoretically and in terms of the evidence employed about the nature of hooliganism. The meager amount of data about hooliganism contained in the plethora of Government reports that have so far been commissioned is striking. This may well be the reason why 'official' remedies so often prove inadequate. One way of gaining an understanding of this phenomenon is by making contact with, talking to, and observing at first hand the behaviour of those people most centrally involved, the hooligans themselves. This paper concludes with a series of portraits of 'the boys', some of it based on their own published writing. This will illustrate different forms of hooligan involvements. It will also provide an understanding of its origins as well as the true scale and scope of hooligan activity, about which many myths prevail. Something of the changes as well as the continuities on the football scene over the past 25 years will be indicated. Finally we will attempt to locate the whole phenomenon in its true place within British youth culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a brief and personal history of the main developments in British vascular plant taxonomy and distribution studies in a European setting since the Second World War. It assesses the importance of the 'European view', and considers recent and current work under two main heads: the factual information itself, and the presentation of the facts, especially in the form of dot distribution maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European integration is far from being only a political and economic problem but has also led to social and cultural challenges, such as the definition of national identity vs European identity and the relationship between member states. There is also a growing sense that, for the nonexpert citizen, the increasing complexity of the EU's institutions and policies means a de facto denial of access to information and policy-making. This paper investigates how the British daily press has been reflecting and responding to these challenges. National stereotyping, for example, is shown to play a key role in the portrayal of France and Germany. Also, data from the Sun are used to illustrate strategies employed to make elite discourse more accessible to the lay reader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Local wound infections are a major challenge for patients and health professionals. Various diagnostic and therapeutic options are available. However, a generally accepted standard is still lacking in Europe. The aim was to develop an easy-to-use clinical score for the early detection of local wound infections, as a basis for decisionmaking on antiseptic therapy or decolonisation. Method: An interdisciplinary and interprofessional panel of experts from seven European countries was brought together to discuss the various aspects of diagnosing local wound infections. Results: The result was the adoption of the Therapeutic Index for Local Infections (TILI) score, developed in Germany by Initiative Chronische Wunden e.V., specifically for health professionals not specialised in wound care. Available in six European languages, the TILI score could also be adapted for different European countries, depending on their specific national healthcare requirements. The six clinical criteria for local wound infection are erythema to surrounding skin; heat; oedema, induration or swelling; spontaneous pain or pressure pain; stalled wound healing; and increase and/or change in colour or smell of exudate. Meeting all criteria indicates that antiseptic wound therapy could be started. Regardless of these unspecific clinical signs, there are also health conditions for the clinical situation which are a direct indication for antimicrobial wound therapy. These include the presence of wound pathogens, such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, septic surgical wound or the presence of free pus. Conclusion: The development of the new internationally adapted TILI score, which could also be used by any caregiver in daily practice to diagnose local infections in acute and hard-to-heal wounds, is the result of expert consensus. However, the score system has to be validated through a clinical evaluation. This is to be performed in expert centres throughout Europe. Declaration of interest: JD has received research support, lecture fees and travel-cost reimbursements from 4M, Coloplast, Convatec, Draco, Engelhardt, Paul Hartmann, KCI, Lohmann&Rauscher, Mölnlycke, SastoMed and Urgo. RL has received research support, lecture fees and travel-cost reimbursements from Mölnlycke and Urgo. AK has received research support, lecture fees and travel-cost reimbursements from 3M, B. Braun Melsungen, Bode/Paul Hartmann, Ethicon, Lohmann&Rauscher, Mundipharma, Oculus, SastoMed Schülke&Mayr, SERAG-WIESSNER and Urgo. JVS has received research support, lecture fees and travel-cost reimbursements from Mundipharma, Histocell, Quesper and Urgo. This work was supported by an unlimited grant from Urgo Medical. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Urgo Medical. The company had no direct influence on the content of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the nature and extent of learning attained as a result of unaccompanied-by-faculty clinical nursing study abroad experiences and to answer the research question 'what is the nature and extent of learning during study abroad?'. Following the Covid-19 restrictions, international placement opportunities for student nurses are now resuming. In light of this, it is an opportune time for nurse educators to reflect and consider the effectiveness of clinical study abroad placements as contexts of learning, especially in relation to attainment of desired learning outcomes such as personal and professional growth and the development of culturally competent global graduates. This is an important area to research as specific understanding in relation to the extent of learning and variations in learning between students is limited. The study was situated within the interpretivist paradigm to elicit experiences of study abroad. Aligned to this, a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was applied to ensure these experiences emerged from the subjective horizon of student nurses. Following ethical approval, two semi-structured interviews per student (post-return and follow-up) were conducted with student nurses who had undertaken a study abroad experience. Phenomenological hermeneutical data analysis for multiple context research was undertaken and a change-transformative learning theory lens was additionally employed to the analysis to differentiate between the extent of and variations in, learning attained. Twenty UK and European student nurses, who were registered onto a study abroad programme prior to the Covid-19 restrictions participated. Variations between participants were identified in relation to the nature and extent of learning. Participants experienced personal and professional growth and they experienced transformation in relation to self as a person, learner and nurse. However, variations existed when considering the attributes of global graduateness and cultural competence development. Whilst participants changed by expanding their knowledge in relation to global and cultural issues, some participants also appear to have concurrently experienced a reinforcement of ethnocentric frames of reference. Analysis revealed that study abroad offered opportunities for students to experience change and transformation. Whilst students demonstrated learning in both the domains of change and transformation, transformative learning in all identified outcome areas was not guaranteed. Whilst transformative learning was apparent when considering personal and professional growth, less extensive learning was demonstrated when considering development of the attributes of global graduateness and cultural competence. The paper therefore recognises the complex nature of study abroad experiences and recommends continued investigation in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AimThis paper reports on the findings from a qualitative study exploring the experiences of teenage mothers using a nurse-led, home-based contraceptive service designed to prevent repeat unplanned pregnancies. The aim was to understand if, and how the service was effective in equipping teenage mothers to make informed choices about contraception, thus preventing a second pregnancy.BackgroundUnplanned teenage pregnancy remains a significant focus of health and social policy in the United Kingdom (UK). Despite the long-term pattern of declining conception rates, the UK continues to report higher rates than comparable countries elsewhere in Europe. Current estimates suggest that approximately one fifth of births amongst under 18’s are repeat pregnancies (Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group, 2009). Services that are designed to reduce second unplanned pregnancies are an important element in promoting teenage sexual health. However, there has been no UK research that explores this kind of service and the experiences of service users.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative interview study. From 2013–2014 we interviewed 40 teenage mothers who had engaged with the nurse-led, home-based contraceptive service.FindingsThe data demonstrates that the service was effective in preventing repeat pregnancies in a number of cases. Among the aspects of the service which were found to contribute to its effectiveness were privacy, convenience, flexibility, appropriately timed access, the non-judgemental attitude of staff and ongoing support. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There has been increasing investigation of the national and ethnic identification of minority populations in Western societies and how far they raise questions about the success or failure of multicultural societies. Much of the political and academic discussion has, however, been premised on two assumptions. First, that ethnic minority and national identification are mutually exclusive, and, second, that national identification forms an overarching majority identity that represents consensus values. In this paper, using a large-scale nationally representative UK survey with a varied set of identity questions, and drawing on an extension of Berry's acculturation framework, we empirically test these two assumptions. We find that, among minorities, strong British national and minority identities often coincide and are not on an opposing axis. We also find that adherence to a British national identity shows cleavages within the white majority population. We further identify variation in these patterns by generation and political orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An emerging consensus among scholars of Muslim political and social identity suggests that Western Muslims live out an anti-essentialist critique of identity construction. Considering this view, this paper examines a cross-national comparison of British Bangladeshis in London and Spanish Moroccans in Madrid that solicits the perceptions of working-class Muslim men. While the results indeed reaffirm respondents' concomitant relationships to a variety of identity paradigms, interview content demonstrates that subjects' multiplicity is complicated by their desire to meet – not reject – the essentialist standards of belonging to the identity paradigms discursively available to them. Rather than defiantly cherry-picking preferred characteristics of religion, ethnicity and nationality, individuals' responses suggest that they are trying to fulfil perceived standards of authenticity. Such a contention helps explain the prevalence of Western Muslims' expressed and well-documented ‘identity crisis’, suggests the enduring relevance of identity essentialisms, and more broadly, complicates post-modern conceptions of identity formation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The contribution of laboratory medicine in delivering value-based care depends on active cooperation and trust between pathologist and clinician. The effectiveness of medicine more in general depends in turn on active cooperation and trust between clinician and patient. From the second half of the 20th century, the art of medicine is challenged by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, recently showing comparable performances to flesh-and-bone doctors in some diagnostic specialties. Being the principle source of data in medicine, the laboratory is a natural ground where AI technologies can disclose the best of their potential. In order to maximize the expected outcomes and minimize risks, it is crucial to define ethical requirements for data collection and interpretation by-design, clarify whether they are enhanced or challenged by specific uses of AI technologies, and preserve these data under rigorous but feasible norms. From 2018 onwards, the European Commission (EC) is making efforts to lay the foundations of sustainable AI development among European countries and partners, both from a cultural and a normative perspective. Alongside with the work of the EC, the United Kingdom provided worthy-considering complementary advice in order to put science and technology at the service of patients and doctors. In this paper we discuss the main ethical challenges associated with the use of AI technologies in pathology and laboratory medicine, and summarize the most pertaining key-points from the guidelines and frameworks before-mentioned., (© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Increases in age, acuity and co-morbidities within the population of persons with kidney disease have made it essential that renal replacement therapies and associated treatments are evidence-based, effective and consistent. Additionally, the need exists to offer treatment option advice that is transparent and unbiased, for both consumers and health care professionals. These imperatives require guidance by principles that are recommended within a uniformly accepted framework. Written in notated point-form, this paper aims to explain why guidelines are important, and to highlight the advantages of referring to clinical guidelines, through an overview of the Kidney Health Australia — Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment (KHA-CARI) Guidelines, as they stand within local and global contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]