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Only scattered pieces remain of the project of a travelogue on England that Mark Twain planned in the wake of The Innocents Abroad (1869), the bestseller that had established him as a renowned traveler-writer. The baffling renouncement may be found in the author's selfconfessed unwillingness to water down his usual caustic humor in the context of the hearty welcome he received as soon as his first trip to the United Kingdom. Attentive readers, though, may find such explanation frustrating, given Twain's sometimes ruthless treatment of other countries he also held in great esteem, as was the case with India in Following the Equator (1897). In order to analyze the question of Twain's puzzling treatment of the United Kingdom in the context of his travel writing, this paper starts by providing a mostly factual presentation of his stays in the United Kingdom before concentrating on the textual aspect, highlighting the particular importance of London in the author's assertion of himself among the greatest literary masters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I examine the ways in which London's symbolic power and, correlatively, its cinematic image, are evolving in the post-European Union referendum era. This paper identifies the ways in which the possible changes in London's material and cinematic image as a dynamic, opening and welcoming city are beginning to manifest themselves in mainstream cinema and cinema-inspired advertising. In particular, I provide an assessment of the current state of the British film industry, highlighting the ways in which EU-funded programmes, like Creative Europe, provide filmmakers in the UK with access to funds and potentially wide distribution. I then discuss the impact the Brexit decision has had on London-based films released after the referendum. Finally, I provide a sociological-thematic analysis, influenced by discourse analysis and semiotic analysis, of two film-themed advertisements (London is the City of Film and Nothing Beats a Londoner), demonstrating the ways in which the uncertainly following the EU referendum is manifested on screen. Ultimately, this paper provides an insight into the ways in which London's material and cinematic identities are evolving as the city and indeed the rest of the UK re-evaluate their place on the global stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws upon research with mothers of diverse Muslim backgrounds in London to explore how these women use 'conservative' interpretations of Islamic beliefs and practices to underpin their parenting strategies. In particular the paper looks at how mothers use religion as a frame to make sense of and give meaning to their experiences and encounters in Britain. We suggest that the women use Islam in four key ways: (i) as a framework for teaching their children right and wrong, (ii) as a means of protecting children from the 'moral' dangers of British society, (iii) as an authoritative voice that reinforces parenting and (iv) as a means of critiquing specific aspects of both the traditional and British culture in which they live and daily negotiate their different cultural and religious belonging. In attempting to instil religious values in their Londonbased children, these mothers have to negotiate the hostility that Islam increasingly provokes in British society's public arenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years within the UK, behaviour change as a policy tool has gained popularity. Concurrently, the role of local authorities in both tackling unsustainability and reducing carbon emissions has become more prominent. This paper describes a recent study in the UK that aims to understand how local authorities are working to tackle unsustainability and encourage pro-environmental behaviour change in the population. Through interviews with local authority sustainability officers from London, this paper reviews the extent of sustainability work currently being undertaken by local authorities to assist residents transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. The study discusses key findings from the interviews, drawing on the commonalities and factors that influence local authority sustainability programmes. The key finding from these interviews is that there is a need for more robust monitoring and evaluation of local authority sustainability programmes. Robust evaluation would improve understanding of the potential contribution that local authority sustainability work could make towards addressing unsustainability and meeting national emission reduction targets. In addition, it would assist the development of the evidence-base on behaviour change interventions and their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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The understanding of feminist pasts has been largely ignored in the history of education. This paper suggests that the historical sociology of Olive Banks provides fresh starting points for future research exploring the relationship between the history of social and political movements and a reassessment of contemporary and historical forms of 'radical education.' The article proceeds to use group biography to explore a municipal socialism that has been over-ridden in historical memory by the classic political histories that take the view from Westminster and Whitehall. In so doing it seeks to show the contribution of six educator activists who were participants in the making of a metropolitan political elite emerging from the association between feminism, socialism and the labour and trade union movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notwithstanding their remarkable recent growth, surprisingly little research has hitherto been conducted on the evolving geography of professional and business services in Britain. This paper analyses the results of a detailed survey of 300 small and medium-sized management and engineering consultancies, in investigating the forces underpinning both the striking clustering of such firms in central London and their growth in decentralized locations of East Anglia and South West England. Particular attention is paid to the notion of clustering, the role of demand-side influences, localized ‘collective learning’ processes, and increasing globalization in clustering, and to so-called ‘enterprising behaviour theory’ in explaining decentralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore for the first time regional differences in the patterning of occupational social mobility in the UK. Drawing on data from Understanding Society (US), supported by the Labour Force Survey (LFS), we examine how rates of absolute and relative intergenerational occupational mobility vary across 19 regions of England, Scotland and Wales. Our findings somewhat problematise the dominant policy narrative on regional social mobility, which presents London as the national ‘engine-room’ of social mobility. In contrast, we find that those currently living in Inner London have experienced the lowest regional rate of absolute upward mobility, the highest regional rate of downward mobility, and a comparatively low rate of relative upward mobility into professional and managerial occupations. This stands in stark contrast to Merseyside and particularly Tyne and Wear where rates of both absolute and relative upward mobility are high, and downward mobility is low. We then examine this Inner London effect further, finding that it is driven in part by two dimensions of migration. First, among international migrants, we find strikingly low rates of upward mobility and high rates of downward mobility. Second, among domestic migrants, we find a striking overrepresentation of those from professional and managerial backgrounds. These privileged domestic migrants, our results indicate, are less likely to experience downward mobility than those from similar backgrounds elsewhere in the country. This may be partly explained by higher educational qualifications, but may also be indicative of a glass floor or opportunity hoarding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a new source of evidence we explore the mobility of mid-nineteenth century seamen. Among seamen born outside London, the tall, the literate and those who could remember the exact day, month and year when they were born, characteristics that we suggest mark them out as men with more choices in life, were more likely to migrate to London. Contrary to what might be inferred from contemporary descriptions of urban disamenities or from persistent differentials in mortality, London appears as a desirable destination for those who could choose. The conclusion must be that London was not so bad, and we should adjust our perception of the problems of urbanisation accordingly, with implications for the wider debate on the standard of living during the industrial revolution. The paper’s methodological interest is the use of height as an explanatory variable in the analysis of migration. Although correlated with other variables that are routinely used in anthropometric studies to indicate life chances, such as literacy and the ability to know and recall date of birth, height has empirical advantages over these alternatives in that it exhibits higher levels of significance. Moreover while literacy and heaping are in essence binary variables, height is a (near) continuous one, and one that allows us to test for linear and non-linear responses, as we do with interesting results in this paper. Perhaps the most fruitful use of height in historical analyses may turn out to be as an explanatory variable; at the very least such a research strategy provides anthropometric historians with further opportunities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: On 7 December 2006 a tornado of T5 (F2) intensity struck northwest London injuring six people and damaging over 200 houses. In this paper, the squall line responsible for the tornado is analysed using reflectivity and radial wind data obtained from Met Office Doppler radars. The environment of the squall line is also analysed using available observations. The squall line developed in a weakly unstable polar maritime airmass to the rear of an active cold front and south of a deep depression moving eastwards over northern Scotland. The tornado was associated with a strong vortex of approximately 2–4km diameter which formed along the leading edge of a bowing segment embedded within the squall line. The tornado occurred close to the time of maximum vortex strength, which followed a short period of rapid vortex intensification. This vortex was one of the strongest, and the longest-lived, of a number of mesovortices traceable in the Doppler radial velocity field for periods of up to 75min. Mature vortices were often associated with characteristic ‘broken-S’ signatures in the reflectivity field, with inflow notches to their north and localised line-bowing to the south. Velocity couplets were also observed in the radial velocity field, especially when vortices were located within 50km range of the radar. The presence of cyclonic and anti-cyclonic vortex pairs early in the evolution of at least one cyclonic vortex, straddling a small bulging section in the leading edge of the line, suggests that localised tilting of the ambient horizontal vorticity was the most likely vortex-genesis mechanism. The analysis reveals that individual vortices developed and evolved rapidly, suggesting that in similar cases, the issuance of tornado warnings based on the detection of individual vortices may result in limited success. However, a tendency for stronger and longer-lived vortices to form along and north of the bowing line segment was observed. In similar cases this could prove useful for identification of sections within a given squall line most prone to stronger mesovortex development, with their attendant risk of localised damaging winds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: On March 23, 2020, the government of the United Kingdom told the British people to stay home, an unprecedented request designed to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus and stop the National Health Service from being overwhelmed.Methods: This study undertook a cross-sectional design to survey a convenience sample of 681 residents of North London on their social distancing (SD) behaviours, demographics, housing situation, politics, psychology and social support using an online questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to measure the associations between these explanatory factors and non-adherence to all SD rules and intentional non-adherence to SD rules.Results: The vast majority (92.8%) of participants did not adhere to all SD rules and nearly half (48.6%) engaged in intentional non-adherence of rules. The odds of not adhering to all SD rules increased if a participant was not identified as highly vulnerable to COVID-19 [OR = 4.5], had lower control over others' distancing [OR = .724], had lower control over responsibilities for which coming into contact with others was unavoidable [OR = .642], and if SD behaviours were reported after lockdown was first relaxed [OR = .261]. The odds of intentionally not adhering to SD rules increased if a participant had a lower intention to socially distance [OR = .468], had lower control over others' distancing [OR = .829], had a doctoral degree compared to a master's degree [OR = .332], a professional qualification [OR = .307], a bachelor's degree [OR = .361] or work-related qualification [OR = .174], voted for the UK Government compared to not voting for the Government [OR = .461], perceived higher normative pressure from neighbours [OR = 1.121] and had greater support from friends [OR = 1.465].Conclusions: Non-adherence to all SD rules had a stronger association with vulnerability to COVID-19 and control over SD, whereas intentional non-adherence had a stronger association with intention and anti-social psychological factors. It is recommended that people living in high-risk environments, such as those living in houses of multiple occupancy, should be specially supported when asked to stay at home, and public health messaging should emphasise shared responsibility and public consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A prospective bed utilisation census of acute London hospitals using an established Day of Care Survey (DoCS), which quantified adult patients not meeting criteria for in-hospital care. Methods Twenty-three hospitals were surveyed over two weeks in October/ November 2017 using supervised trained hospital staff. Pairs of staff visited wards, reviewed all patients and identified those not meeting inpatient care criteria, recording reasons for delay. Patient demographics, length of stay (LOS), ward specialty and delay reasons were collected. Results Overall – In total, 8,656 in-patients were studied (overall occupancy 96%, range 82- 117%): 800 definite discharges were excluded, leaving 7,856 patients for analysis; seven hospitals had ≥100% occupancy; 1,919/7,856 patients (24%, range 12–43%) did not meet criteria; 56% of patients were over 70 years; five hospitals had higher number of patients <70yo. 56% patients had LOS 0≤7days. Delayed patients – Number of delayed patients increased with age, but three hospitals had more patients <70yo; 53% had LOS≤14 days and 47% LOS>14 days; 13 hospitals had greater/equal number of patients in ≤14 days LOS. For delayed patients in ≤14 days group, most were within seven days of admission (627 ≤7days, 393 8-14 days). In total 34% (range 11-54%) of delays were related to acute hospital reasons (AHR) and 61% (range 46-83%) to wider system reasons (WSR). Eight common themes accounted for 67% of recorded reasons and were equally split between AHR and WSR. Conclusion Data showed high occupancy levels with insufficient discharges. This study suggests policies selecting age and/or LOS alone as cut offs to tackle delays in care may miss a large proportion of patients requiring more timely interventions. Adopting a proactive thematic approach to improvement using the top eight delay reasons provides an obvious opportunity to reduce delays while noting the inter site variation. All metrics analysed emphasized the need for informed local data to help support local change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A powerful dystopian imaginary dominates political and cultural representations of Britain's postwar tower blocks, which continue to be linked to social dysfunction and alienation despite extensive empirical research that challenges such claims. This article asks what contested declarations of failure "do" by examining how "tower block failure" is discursively deployed by placemaking professionals--planners, architects, housing managers, regeneration practitioners--engaged in the construction of a "model" mixed-tenure neighborhood in London's Olympic Park. Examining how the aesthetic figure of the "failed" high-rise housing estate is configured in relation to the normative models of citizenship and community that infuse social and spatial policy, I argue "failure" is entangled with a speculative, future-oriented economy of risk management, which refracts wider questions about the nonobvious forms that power takes in the neoliberal city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines whether the so-called 'London effect', in which London's schools improved rapidly and outperformed the rest of England on key performance measures between 2003 and 2013, has persisted through the high levels of change that have continued to characterize the school system in England since 2013. Using detailed analysis of educational attainment data, its primary focus is on determining whether the introduction in 2014 of significant changes to the primary curriculum and the national assessment frameworks in both primary and secondary phases affected the performance of London's schools in 2016, when the first examinations were taken under the new assessment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood risk emerges from the dynamic interaction between natural hazards and human vulnerability. Methods for the quantification of flood risk are well established, but tend to deal with human and economic vulnerability as being static or changing with an exogenously defined trend. In this paper we present an Agent-Based Model (ABM) developed to simulate the dynamical evolution of flood risk and vulnerability, and facilitate an investigation of insurance mechanism in London. The ABM has been developed to firstly allow an analysis of the vulnerability of homeowners to surface water flooding, which is one of the greatest short-term climate risks in the UK with estimated annual costs of £1.3bn to £2.2bn. These costs have been estimated to increase by 60-220% over the next 50 years due to climate change and urbanisation. Vulnerability is influenced by homeowner's decisions to move house and/or install measures to protect their properties from flooding. In particular, the ABM focuses on the role of flood insurance, simulating the current public-private partnership between the government and insurers in the UK, and the forthcoming re-insurance scheme Flood Re, designed as a roadmap to support the future affordability and availability of flood insurance. The ABM includes interaction between homeowners, sellers and buyers, an insurer, a local government and a developer. Detailed GIS and qualitative data of the London borough of Camden are used to represent an area at high risk of surface water flooding. The ABM highlights how future development can exacerbate current levels of surface water flood risk in Camden. Investment in flood protection measures are shown to be beneficial for reducing surface water flood risk. The Flood Re scheme is shown to achieve its aim of securing affordable flood insurance premiums, however, is placed under increasing pressure in the future as the risk of surface water flooding continues to increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial bazaars were a short-lived retail innovation of the first half of the nineteenth century, mainly in London. Rather like fairs had done earlier, they offered a wide range of clothing, household and fancy goods and entertainment. Like fairs they were about both shopping and leisure. But, unlike fairs, they were a controlled environment, permanent and fashionable. The norm was for counters to be let out daily, but some bazaars were essentially large shops. Traders in bazaars were often female, and at least some used bazaars as secondary outlets. Shop retailers complained about the unfair competition offered by bazaars, but many bazaars struggled commercially. Nevertheless they can be seen as precursors of department stores and covered market halls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work shows how open data and open-source software can be used to create sophisticated maps from large spatial data sets. The resulting maps enable both the fine-grained details of London's property boom and the overarching impact that this is having on households with median earnings to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To complement traditional dietary surveys, which are costly and of limited scale, researchers have resorted to digital data to infer the impact of eating habits on people's health. However, online studies are limited in resolution: they are carried out at country or regional level and do not capture precisely the composition of the food consumed. We study the association between food consumption (derived from the loyalty cards of the main grocery retailer in London) and health outcomes (derived from publicly-available medical prescription records of all general practitioners in the city). The scale and granularity of our analysis is unprecedented: we analyze 1.6B food item purchases and 1.1B medical prescriptions for the entire city of London over the course of one year. By studying food consumption down to the level of nutrients, we show that nutrient diversity and amount of calories are the two strongest predictors of the prevalence of three diseases related to what is called the "metabolic syndrome": hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. This syndrome is a cluster of symptoms generally associated with obesity, is common across the rich world, and affects one in four adults in the UK. Our linear regression models achieve an R 2 of 0.6 when estimating the prevalence of diabetes in nearly 1000 census areas in London, and a classifier can identify (un)healthy areas with up to 91% accuracy. Interestingly, healthy areas are not necessarily well-off (income matters less than what one would expect) and have distinctive features: they tend to systematically eat less carbohydrates and sugar, diversify nutrients, and avoid large quantities. More generally, our study shows that analytics of digital records of grocery purchases can be used as a cheap and scalable tool for health surveillance and, upon these records, different stakeholders from governments to insurance companies to food companies could implement effective prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]