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This paper utilises qualitative and quantitative findings from the Facilitating Inclusive Education and Supporting the Transition Agenda (FIESTA) project that carried out a survey of professionals and focus groups/interviews with parents and children to understand the context of transition, inclusion and collaborative working. The paper contrasts parent, professional and pupil views of different approaches to transition for pupils with additional support requirements in the partner EU countries of the FIESTA project (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Catalonia/Spain and Scotland/the United Kingdom). Transition from pre-school to primary school and from primary to secondary school is a period where professionals begin to meet and exchange knowledge. Although many significant developments have taken place, transition remains very challenging for European countries. This paper differentiates between transitions led by professionals, parents and children. It analyses transition practices in order to make recommendations on how we can move beyond rigid approaches to inclusion, shift power relations in service settings and enable more flexible, participatory and inter-relational approaches.

As the participation of children and young people in policy decision-making has spread in the UK, participation work is facing hard questions on its translation from principle to effective practice. The participation literature has been largely self-referential in its consideration of policy influence. This paper considers the potential usefulness of the UK literature on policy networks, which categorises the relationships between government actors and other interests in policy-making. A brief introduction is given to this literature. Then a participatory project is examined in light of certain key concepts within the policy network literature. The paper concludes by considering how both the participation and the policy networks literature might learn from each other in future conceptual and empirical work.

A small brass astrolabe belonging to Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, has been studied. Referred to as “Caius B,” it is shown that it is almost certainly English and dates to the early fourteenth century, possibly c. 1326. It has not previously been studied in depth but has long been associated with the Cambridge scholar Walter of Elveden, the writer of a Kalendarium which was a predecessor of those by Nicholas of Lynn and John Somer. Strong evidence has been found to support this association, and to link the design and features of the astrolabe to church architecture of the time, particularly of Norwich Cathedral. The accuracy of the astrolabe layout has also been studied and some errors have been observed which shed light on the methods of drawing and the sources of astronomical data available to the maker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is assumed that the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is associated with factors that are related to features of reproduction as well as the currently emerging fields of mood and emotional response. Methods: We analysed data from over 8000 mothers who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We determined reproductive, emotional and personality differences related to the two SNPs rs53576 and rs2254298 of the oxytocin receptor gene to determine whether there was evidence in this population for: (i) associations with emotional and personality differences, and (ii) behavioural or environmental links with these SNPs using a hypothesis free approach with over 1000 types of exposure. Results: Our analyses of 7723 women showed that there were no differences in 11 mood, social or relationship characteristics associated with the rs2254298, and just one with rs53576 (with emotional loneliness) – one statistically significant out of 22 tests is no more than would be expected by chance. There were no interactions with childhood abuse. Using a hypothesis-free approach we found few indicators of environmental or behavioural differences associated with rs2254298, but there was an excess of associations with eating habits with rs53576. The findings included an association with dieting to lose weight, and habits typical of bulimia for the women with GG. The nutrition of the women also showed negative associations of the GG genotype with 13 nutrients, including vitamins D, B12 and retinol, and intake of calcium, potassium and iodine. Conclusions: We conclude that this large database of pregnant women was unable to provide confirmation of the types of personality associated with these two OXTR SNPs, but we have shown some evidence of eating differences in those with GG on rs53576. Confirmation of our hypothesis free associations using other data sets is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the industrial competition in Great Britain and the beginning of German nationalism during 1815–1914. Topics discussed include Anglo-German commercial rivalry, concepts of Anglophilia and Anglophobia, themes of commerce and industry, and factors of British commerce and economic strength. Also highlighted topics such as commercial politics, German nationalism, and commercial diplomacy and the contribution.

Objectives To examine the prognostic value of prestroke disability in predicting inpatient mortality and length of hospital stay ( LOS) independent of age, sex, and stroke type and severity. Design Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected stroke registers. Setting United Kingdom. Participants Fourteen thousand four hundred thirty-seven individuals (52.9% female, mean age 75.4 ± 12.1) with stroke (82% ischemic) admitted to three university hospitals. Measurements Data were examined from three hospital registers: Aintree (2005-2010), Newcastle (2000-2005), and Norwich (1997-2010). Risk of inpatient death and prolonged hospital stay according to prestroke disability using the modified Rankin Score ( mRs) were assessed using logistic regression adjusting for age, sex, and stroke subtype (ischemic vs hemorrhagic) and severity. Results Inpatient death was 20.8%. In fully adjusted models, higher prestroke mRs was associated with significantly greater risk of mortality (for mRs = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 vs mRs = 0: odds ratio (OR)=1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.09-1.50; OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.29-1.75; OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.60-2.13; OR = 2.56, 95% CI = 2.15-3.04; and OR = 4.48, 95% CI = 3.47-5.80, respectively). The relationship appeared to be linear, and each point increase in mRs equated to being approximately 5 years older. Although age and stroke type appear to be strong independent predictors of LOS, premorbid mRs also predicted longer LOS regardless of discharge status. The predictability of the model using these parameters was very good (receiver operating characteristic: 0.82 for death and 0.65-0.70 for LOS). Conclusion Prestroke disability predicts inpatient death and LOS, independent of age, sex, and stroke type and severity. Whether this is related to mental or physical disability should be examined in future prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines experiments in communal living in Britain and Denmark in the early 1970s, using life-story interviews from seventeen members of two British and two Danish communes. It examines communal living as a fusion of radical political principles with the practice of experimental collective living. It concludes that the movement's egalitarian principles of resource-sharing, gender equality and the avoidance of hierarchies were broadly achieved, even if the movement obviously did not realize its more ambitious objective of undermining the bourgeois family. Though none of the interviewees lives communally now, most remain faithful to the principles behind the movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the developments of international anti-corruption enforcement in the U.S. in 2009. It notes that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) among U.S. agencies have used specialized investigation and prosecution units. However, other countries like Great Britain has seriously fought corruption with three FCPA trials that ended in convictions.

A low level of response (LR), or low sensitivity, to alcohol as established by alcohol challenges has been shown to predict future heavier drinking, alcohol-related problems and alcohol use disorders. To date, only one study has evaluated the predictive validity of a second measure of LR as determined by the Self-Report of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) Questionnaire. The current analyses evaluate the ability of SRE scores as determined at age 12 to predict heavier drinking and alcohol-related problems 2 years later in a sample from the United Kingdom. Methods: The subjects were 156 boys (54.5%) and girls from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) who had reported consuming one or more standard drinks by age 12 and who were followed up 2 years later. Results: The age 12 SRE scores correlated with the number of drinks per week, maximum drinks and the number of alcohol problems both at baseline and at age 14 follow-ups. In these evaluations, a larger number of drinks required for effects on the SRE (i.e. a lower LR per drink consumed) related to heavier intake and alcohol-related difficulties. Simultaneous entry multiple regression analyses revealed that the age 12 SRE score maintained a significant relationship with age 14 higher number of drinks per week and the number of alcohol problems even when the age 12 values for alcohol intake and problems were used as covariates. Conclusion: The SRE scores appear to have value in predicting future heavier drinking and alcohol problems in 12-year olds that go beyond the information offered by the earlier drinking pattern alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article interrogates how children and young people's participation in public decision-making has been promoted in the UK. It considers critically the reasons typically (and persuasively) put forward for such participation, which can be categorized as: the promotion of children's rights; alignment with consumerism and service user involvement; enhancing democracy; and developing children's well-being and development. Each of these reasons can appeal to particular agendas of policy-makers, professionals and other influential adults, to provide room and support for participation. But inevitably each reason has certain advantages and disadvantages, acted out in current trends and accompanying dilemmas in children and young people's participation activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the participation of children and young people in policy decision-making has spread in the UK, participation work is facing hard questions on its translation from principle to effective practice. The participation literature has been largely self-referential in its consideration of policy influence. This paper considers the potential usefulness of the UK literature on policy networks, which categorises the relationships between government actors and other interests in policy-making. A brief introduction is given to this literature. Then a participatory project is examined in light of certain key concepts within the policy network literature. The paper concludes by considering how both the participation and the policy networks literature might learn from each other in future conceptual and empirical work. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Features the British and Irish Hardwoods Improvement Programme, a collaboration among many organizations and individuals concerned with the evaluation, improvement and conservation of hardwoods for commercial and ecological purposes. History of the program; Aims of the program; Selection and testing of populations and individual trees.

The article reflects on issues related to job security and fulfillment in Great Britain. It discusses how changes in the patterns of employment resulted to work insecurity, which led to the creation of trade unions among the working population that aims to ensure security of employment. It also discusses several factors that contributed to employment insecurity, which include corporate decision making practices, government policies, and the lack of importance given by companies to the value of human resources. With this, the author contends that there is an urgent need for a serious debate to address the problem, considering that secure and fulfilling work is the most important public concern as it put communities and families at stake.

Comments on various topics related to medicine in Great Britain. Details on the solutions to the problems of the medicine; Aspects of hypertension; Description of labile hypertension.

This article discusses the structure and performance of broiler market and analyses marketing margins in this sector, namely the extent to which protection from imports may have influenced margins and prices to consumers. The study of marketing margins can provide a useful indication of the efficiency with which a food commodity is produced and distributed. It can also indicate the extent to which structural weaknesses or imbalances in a marketing system may be having undesirable effects on the incomes of producers and distributors, or on the prices charged to consumers for the final product. The objective of the study includes determination of the size of the gross marketing margins, in money and real terms, on Northern Ireland frozen broilers from 1975 to 1982 and identification of the ways in which margins have been moving during this period. It also helps to determine the share of retail expenditure received by producers in Northern Ireland and compares this with the share received by producers in Great Britain. Examination of the extent to which the observed prices and margins were related to the structural features of the marketing system have also been analysed.

This article reviews some of the important changes that have occurred in the United Kingdom food market principally during the 1970s, and also considers some of the marketing implications of these changes. Although the total market for food has not grown by very much there have been important changes in the structure of demand which have been the result largely of social and economic developments in UK society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents comments on research works related to medicine in Great Britain. Care of dying patients in hospital; Detection of bilateral isodense subdural hematomas; Link between moderate drinking and loss of brain cells.

Reports developments on public health in Great Britain. Accuracy of non-mydriatic photography in detecting preproliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy; Inadequacy of government allocation for the training of future social workers; Significance of the biopsy cut procedure for ultrasound guided biopsy.

Background: The low level of response (LR) to alcohol is one of several genetically influenced characteristics that increase the risk for heavy drinking and alcohol problems. Efforts to understand how LR operates through additional life influences have been carried out primarily in modest-sized U.S.-based samples with limited statistical power, raising questions about generalizability and about the importance of components with smaller effects. This study evaluates a full LR-based model of risk in a large sample of adolescents from the United Kingdom. Methods: Cross-sectional structural equation models were used for the approximate first half of the age 17 subjects assessed by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, generating data on 1,905 adolescents (mean age 17.8 years, 44.2% boys). LR was measured with the Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire, outcomes were based on drinking quantities and problems, and standardized questionnaires were used to evaluate peer substance use, alcohol expectancies, and using alcohol to cope with stress. Results: In this young and large U.K. sample, a low LR related to more adverse alcohol outcomes both directly and through partial mediation by all 3 additional key variables (peer substance use, expectancies, and coping). The models were similar in boys and girls. Conclusions: These results confirm key elements of the hypothesized LR-based model in a large U.K. sample, supporting some generalizability beyond U.S. groups. They also indicate that with enough statistical power, multiple elements contribute to how LR relates to alcohol outcomes and reinforce the applicability of the model to both genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the role of Peter Tizard in the expansion of British pediatrics practice. Establishment of a neonatal research unit at Hammersmith Hospital in London; Setting up of the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit at Oxford University; Associations with other physicians.