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This paper uses narrative accounts of private gardens in Britain from the Mass-Observation Archive (MO) to explore ideas of landscape, privacy and attachment that emerge from daily practices and routines in these ordinary domestic spaces. We argue for the domestic garden as a vernacular or ordinary landscape that displays tensions between the private and the public nature of home within ambivalent emotional responses. Extended personal narratives offer privileged access to a site of intense engagement and carefully guarded privacy, yet with varying levels of attachment. The garden is a space well described in Britain in its public form but less well known as a private, everyday landscape. In this way a cultural landscape study becomes a contemporary critical geography of an ordinary space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Urban nature similarly benefitted ethnically diverse green space visitors in the UK. • Visitors with distinct recreation preferences drew similar benefits from nature. • Relaxation was the primary benefit that visitors derived from urban nature. • The contrast to typical urban spaces added to relaxation in green spaces. • Publicizing the shared value of nature could foster intercultural understanding. Green spaces are vital to the wellbeing of urban communities, largely due to the many Cultural Ecosystem Benefits (CEB) that nature contributes to outdoor recreation experiences (e.g., relaxation, inspiration, spiritual enrichment). To ensure equity in the distribution of CEB, however, we require a better understanding of how they relate to ethnicity. Through 100 in-situ semi-structured interviews with green space users in the Lee Valley Regional Park, London, UK, this research explored variation in outdoor recreational CEB based on i) ethnicity and ii) green space activity and attribute preferences. We compared green space preferences and CEB of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and white users of two distinct types of urban green space: parks and more biodiverse Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Both white and BAME visitors to parks prioritized games/sports and built features whereas visitors to SSSIs more often undertook wildlife viewing and prioritized natural features. However, we found that white and BAME users of both types of urban green space derived similar CEB. Peace and relaxation were primary among these benefits, a result of both nature interaction and its contrast to the urban environment. These results demonstrate that nature does not have to be the focal point of outdoor recreation to contribute to wellbeing; rather, even as a backdrop to sports and cultural activities, nature provides similar benefits to green space users. To promote use of green space and foster intercultural understanding, we recommend integrating these shared benefits obtained from nature within marketing and engagement strategies. Future research is needed to explore CEB variation within and among distinct ethnic communities to fully capture the diversity of lived experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many sports, but especially professional soccer in the UK, clubs have recently relocated to new stadiums so as to meet new health and safety requirements and also develop new opportunities for income generation. The process of stadium relocation involves the emergence of new spaces that have implications for the power relations between stadium owners, managers and sport supporters. Existing studies provide a limited understanding of the changing nature of power relations in new stadiums. This paper reveals the power modalities and resources involved in the constantly changing new stadium spaces. A case study of Arsenal Football Club in London and the process of ‘Arsenalisation’ in the club's new stadium reveals how material and virtual spaces are used by supporters to resist, confirm and negotiate the resources and practices of stadium managers seeking to control their activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Great Britain, attempts to broaden university-community engagement have taken significant steps in recent years. A wide variety of community-engagement structures and activities are now emerging. This paper uses one innovative example University of Brighton's Community-University Partnership Programme to describe the opportunities and probe the dilemmas. The paper shows how leadership is at the heart of arrangements whereby diverse groups come together with different goals and motives to take part in a collective process. The complex leadership needed to succeed at such efforts is considered. Recommendations for institutional change and growth are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global cities, such as London, are viewed as distinctive in terms of their role in the increasingly globalized economy. There has been considerable academic debate over the nature of global city labour markets and how these can be explained in relation to global city functions. New empirical evidence is presented for the tourism labour market in London and the UK. The pay, conditions and social characteristics of tourism workers in London are examined, and they appear distinctive in terms of their full-time, gender (male), student, ethnicity and migrant characteristics. An explanation is developed that explores the interactions between the global city role of London and other scaled geographical processes that originate, especially at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth in the provision of gardens has been an important feature of housing in the UK during the 20th century, and yet the significance of the humble domestic garden has been neglected in studies of housing and home. This paper examines the role of the garden in the meaning of home, and draws on theoretical discussions of nature, environmental risk and social uncertainty in late modernity. Secondary empirical data is used to investigate the changing uses of gardens and practices of gardening. A survey of garden owners provides primary empirical data to examine meanings of gardens and personal experiences of nature. The paper concludes that the garden is an important site for privacy, sociability and sensual connections to nature, and these activities can be understood as negotiations and practices to address the social and environmental paradoxes of late modern life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the changing nature of tourism policy in Great Britain. Supranational tourism policy influences of the European Union; Consequences of the uneven development of tourism policy in Britain; Proposal of a research agenda for tourism geography.

The involvement of urban and regional governments in transnational cooperative arrangements and policy networks has led to considerable debate regarding the political and theoretical implications. This paper examines networking and cooperation between urban areas and regions in the UK and France with a shared sea border. Such cross-border cooperation involving local authorities in Europe is a growing phenomenon and has certain implications for the analysis of local and urban politics. Three study areas are examined in detail: the Transmanche region involving Kent County Council and the French region Nord-Pas-de-Calais; the Transmanche Metropole which includes Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Poole in Britain and Caen, Rouen and Le Havre in France; the cooperative initiative between the English county of East Sussex and the French de partements of Somme and Seine-Maritime. In all three case studies, the development of cooperation has been influenced by the availability of funds from the European Union Interreg programme which supports transfrontier networking. A number of political consequences of cross-border cooperation are identified. The implications of these policy initiatives for theories of urban politics are considered, including a discussion of the political and economic construction of competition and cooperation between cities and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines employer involvement in the evaluation of student oral presentations in geography courses in Great Britain. Description of the geography curriculum, skills teaching and employer-student program at Birkbeck College; Employer involvement in assessment and feedback for oral presentations; Benefits from employer involvement.

The sub-regional pattern of employment change from 1989 to 1991 is examined for the hotel and catering industry in Great Britain. A complex spatial pattern is identified. The effects of tourism, leisure, local economic and population change, and sub-regional economic specialisation on employment levels in hotel and catering are considered. Further analysis is undertaken of the geography of employment change in the sub-sectors of eating places, take-aways, pubs, clubs, hotels, canteens and other tourist accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Football fan participation within the context of the English Premier League (EPL) has diversified through the rise of fan channels hosted on YouTube. As a pioneer within this participatory new media landscape, AFTV (formerly Arsenal Fan TV) is the most prominent example within the genre having amassed over one million YouTube subscribers. Drawing data from the comments posted under 36 post-match reaction fan interviews, this article analyzes the uses and functions of banter or mock impoliteness. Within the UK cultural context banter is understood as language used primarily in male-to-male bonding interactions where ego maintenance is a high interactional priority. We subsequently propose four thematic classifications of banter discourse; personal banter, legacy banter, impersonal banter and banter violation. We ask whether football fan channels such as AFTV should be seen as a source of financial income for the operators, entertainment for rival supporters or as of genuine interest and value to Arsenal fans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the evidence that the Mass-Observation Archive (MOA) of Great Britain has collected in relation to the British public's attitudes towards public libraries. The MOA is an open-access social science research organization and information storage which is located at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England that has been gathering qualitative evidence of the public's daily lives and its reactions towards the local, national and international issues and events. Their collection of evidence has contributed to the creation of Britain's idea of itself. While it is a unique resource for social scientists and researchers looking for evidence of social change and attitudes, the MOA has not been free of criticism.

President's foreword. For the Royal Statistical Society, the year 2010 was first and foremost the year of the 'getstats' campaign. The first World Statistics Day, sponsored by the United Nations, took place on 20.10.2010, and statistical Societies around the world took part in activities to raise awareness of our discipline and to celebrate its many achievements. According to the United Nations, the day 'was celebrated in over 130 countries and areas', and the Society chose this auspicious date to launch getstats, its 10-year statistical literacy campaign (). Statistical literacy is a key ability in today's data-driven society, comprising a fundamental set of skills and knowledge needed to make important life choices as well as to support roles in employment, research and policy making. At the launch event John Pullinger, Chair of the getstats steering group, argued that 'just as the 3 ''Rs'' were the new skills that were needed for advancement in the time of the industrial revolution, so the fourth ''R'' (statistical Reasoning) is now a vital life skill'. The campaign launch was marked by a paper read to the Society entitled 'Towards more accessible conceptions of statistical inference' by Chris Wild, Maxine Pfannkuch, Matt Regan (University of Auckland, New Zealand) and Nicholas Horton (Smith College, USA). This was followed by a reception at which excerpts of the BBC-commissioned film 'The joy of statistics' were shown (its YouTube clip has now topped 4 million views). There were also impressive demonstrations by developers of new exploratory data sites and data visualization tools, before a countdown to 8.10 p.m. (20.10) when the red button was pressed to launch the campaign. A further week of launch events followed in London and Plymouth organized by the RSS Centre for Statistical Education and included activities for teachers in schools and higher education, employers and young statisticians. Collaborating bodies for getstats include the Actuarial Profession, the British Academy, the Institute of Physics, the Nuffield Foundation, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society, the UK Statistics Authority and many others. In particular, funding from the Nuffield Foundation is enabling the Society to appoint a Getstats Director in 2011, giving a real impetus to the campaign. The Society has more than 7000 members, of whom roughly 20% now have Chartered membership. The numbers of both Chartered Statisticians and Graduate Statisticians are growing, and roughly a seventh of professional members now have Chartered Scientist status. A new development this year is the provision of on-line continuing professional development recording; this facility is available to all Fellows of the Society. The continuing difficult economic climate has inevitably had an effect on the Society's finances, but the staff at Errol Street have been very effective in reducing expenses wherever possible and the Society has been able further to raise its profile and activities across a range of areas. As usual, the Society has run a very extensive programme of Ordinary Meetings, and Section and Local Group meetings, and it held a successful and enjoyable annual conference in Brighton. Highlights of the conference included well-received plenary lectures by Tim Davis, Peter Donnelly, Robert Groves, Nancy Reid and Robert Stine, a fish-and-chip supper on a wind-swept pier and a conference dinner with a highly entertaining after-dinner talk from Andrew Dilnot. The next (revamped) annual conference will take place in 2012, following a full review of the conference structure and consultation with the membership. The annual awards ceremony is another regular event in the Society's calendar. In 2010, as well as Guy, Greenfield and Chambers Medals, awards were given for Statistical Excellence in Journalism, which has continued to attract increased interest, and, for the first time this year, for Excellence in Official Statistics sponsored by the ONS. Plans are now in hand for an award for Excellence in Pharmaceutical Statistics sponsored jointly with PSI (Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry). Short courses and workshops took place before the Brighton conference, and the Professional Development Centre ran a varied programme of nine training courses appealing both to statisticians and to statistics users throughout the year. The successful programme of workshops for journalists continued and, in addition, funding was obtained from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to co-ordinate science training for non-specialist journalists, with a member of staff seconded from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology acting as national co-ordinator. Through the Professional Affairs Committee, the Society continues to accredit universities for their statistics degrees both in the UK and overseas, and attracted an increasing number of candidates for its Ordinary and Higher Certificates and Graduate Diploma. Education in schools is also an essential part of the Society's activities, in which the Education Theme and the RSS Centre for Statistical Education are playing a vital role through the 'Significance in schools' projects, CensusAtSchool (funded by the ONS) and involvement in student conferences such as 'Planet Earth-over the limit?'. The Society actively continued its programme of policy development and communication, engaging with politicians and government, the media, education funding and regulatory bodies, and many other groups. For example, its call to the UK Statistics Authority for a comprehensive review of inflation measures was given wide media coverage and, before the general election, more than 300 Fellows and guests heard representatives of the three major political parties setting out their views on the official statistics system. The Statistics User Forum brings together users of official statistics across the spectrum from industry and local government, through to Learned Societies and research institutes. The Society's expertise is sought on a wide variety of subjects, and it submitted responses to consultations and invitations to comment from many official bodies including the Cabinet Office, the Forensic Science Regulator, the Law Commission, the ONS, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation and the UK Statistics Authority. In addition, it has regular meetings with the National Statistician, and with the other mathematical Learned Societies through its membership of the Council for the Mathematical Sciences. As part of the latter, there are regular meetings with the Chief Executives of the Higher Education Funding Council for England and of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The shortage of trained manpower in statistics is an on-going problem, so it was particularly pleasing that a presentation by the Society at a liaison meeting with the manager of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's mathematics programme led to continued funding being earmarked for Masters training in statistics and operational research for a further 3 years. The Society's journal series (A, B and C) form a crucial part of the output of the Society, providing a service and resource not only to members but also to statisticians world wide. This year, more papers were submitted than ever before. Changes to the procedures for handling those papers submitted for possible reading to the Society were introduced: an important aspect is that all Sections of the Society are now encouraged to sponsor papers for reading. The year 2010 also saw a transformational step for Significance, with the agreement with the American Statistical Association for joint publication. This has resulted in a fourfold increase in the readership and plans for more frequent issues. To the relief of some, English spellings have been maintained, and the content included censuses, oil spills, ethnic profiling and Pictish carvings. The year also saw the launch of its own Web site, where rapidly changing short articles and news stories can be found. The Significance Web site was quickly accepted by the Google News aggregator, not only recognizing it as a reputable news source but also giving it greater prominence on Google. Links with other statistical Societies are increasingly important also. Discussions on closer co-operation took place in Paris with the Presidents of other European Societies, and these will be continued at the next International Statistical Institute World Congress in Dublin. This foreword gives only a taste of the activities of the Society in 2010. More details, with accounts of all the Themes, Section meetings and other activities, which give a much fuller picture of all that the Society does, can be found in the following report. A striking feature is the incredible number of names that appear in these pages. A very great many people give their services to the Society, as committee members, organizers and speakers, as editors and referees, and in other capacities. They contribute enormous energy, enthusiasm and commitment, complementing that of the Society's permanent staff. The Society owes all these people, staff and volunteers alike, a great debt of gratitude for all they enable it to achieve. Valerie Isham [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

President's foreword. The year 2009 was the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Society. Various events were held to celebrate the achievements and longevity of the Society, and to engage other people and organizations where we wished to raise awareness of our activities. These events included a Founders' Day meeting of presentations followed by a reception at the Barbican Centre, a reception at the Palace of Westminster engaging with Members of Parliament and Peers, a President's dinner, the award of four Honorary Fellowships and celebratory events at the annual conference, of which more below. Despite the difficult economic climate which pervaded the year, and which had its due impact on the Society, it is apparent that the Society has been successful in raising both its profile and its influence. Our National Statistics Working Party continued to engage with the Office for National Statistics and the UK Statistics Authority, as well as to monitor and comment appropriately when statistics were misused or misreported in the public domain. This is an important role for the Society, since it is both expert and independent of government. In a related vein, plans were laid to launch an 'Excellence in official statistics' award, paralleling the award for statistical excellence in journalism, which has continued to attract increased interest. It is perhaps in the nature of statistics that the Society might be expected to comment on a wide variety of subjects affecting society, and it indeed responded to a number of government and other consultation documents. We also used our role in the Council for the Mathematical Sciences to make comments on issues such as the research excellence framework and the international review of mathematics. After the lengthy tendering process conducted during 2008, the Society's Centre for Statistical Education moved to its new host institution, the University of Plymouth, on August 1st, 2009. The move was marked with a week of events in November, including an afternoon of presentations attended by the Mayor of Plymouth and the Director General for Science and Research of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. In addition to its work through the Centre, the Society contributed to education planning and organization at various levels, from meeting with the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, through contributing to consultations on 'more maths grads', the higher education science, technology, engineering and mathematics higher education initiative, and the Bologna Agreement, to promoting the Guy Lecture in schools. The Society introduced a modular version of its Graduate Diploma in 2009, and continued to accredit university statistics degrees, where it is strengthening its international engagement. The overall number of candidates sitting the Society's examinations increased in 2009. The Society's 2009 conference was held in Edinburgh. Although occurring in an odd-numbered year, and therefore technically a special theme conference, it was decided to make that theme '175 years of progress', so that the anniversary could be properly marked. And, thanks to the superb local organization and wonderful scientific programme, the conference was a runaway success, with a record breaking number of attendees. The reception at Edinburgh Castle was launched by the Scottish Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, and speakers included the Presidents of several parallel statistical organizations from other countries. Plenary speakers included the National Statistician and the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser. In addition there were 79 invited talks, 116 contributed presentations and 62 poster presentations. There is a general drift in the direction of strengthening international collaborations, and the Society took part in discussions at both the International Statistical Institute's conference in Durban and the Joint Statistical Meeting in Washington concerning co-ordinating the activities of the various national statistical organizations. Because of its size and history, the Society is a key and respected player in such discussions. The Society continued to push, on several fronts, to improve both the public image of statistics and the public understanding of it. For example, the statistical workshops for journalists have continued to be very positively received. When the Science Minister is led to remark that 'leading the field is the Royal Statistical Society, who have been doing exemplary work in this area [of science training] for years' we know we are getting it right. The Society's stable of publications continued to flourish. In particular, we began discussions with the American Statistical Association about collaborating on the magazine Significance, and distributing it to the Association's membership. These plans will come to fruition in 2010. This is in parallel with the 'Bringing Significance to the classroom' project, which made substantial progress in 2009. The Long Term Strategy Group, which was established in 2008 to undertake horizon scanning to explore how the Society should position itself to ensure that it met its objectives, reported during 2009. One of its recommendations was that the Society should set up a statistical literacy campaign, and Council duly did so. The campaign will be formally launched in 2010, as a long-term exercise aimed at enhancing statistical understanding across society. Progress has been made on the information technology front, with the members' database and improved Web facilities, although, as appears to be common with such projects, it has not always been a smooth process. RSS eNews has been a marked success, as has progress on audio and video recording of meetings and other events. The activities noted above represent a mere sample from the range of activities which the Society undertook during 2009. Full details of these and the many other activities of the Society are given in the body of this report. My overall impression of the year is that the image and public perception of statistics and its importance in modern life is improving. This progress is entirely attributable to the energy, enthusiasm and commitment of the many volunteers, who run Sections, manage Local Groups, run committees and carry out a myriad of other activities behind the scenes of the Society, and to the matching energy, enthusiasm and commitment of the Errol Street staff: the engine room of the Society. David J. Hand [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]