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This article considers the issue of romance frauds, a form of behaviour that has recently gathered significant public attention. A romance fraud operates by persuading a person to believe they are in a legitimate romance and then using that romance to extract money, gifts or other financial rewards from them. The emotional consequences of romance fraud can be significant, with victims often experiencing feelings akin to grief. This paper considers whether such behaviour should be considered a financial crime or whether the behaviour inherent within it means that it should be considered an offence against the person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2010 Derrick Bird shot and killed 12 people, as well as injuring a further 11, in Cumbria. A legitimate question that arose after the tragedy was whether the outcome would have been different if the British police had been armed? This paper explores whether human rights law requires, or at least justifies, the UK authorities to arm the police in the pursuit of public protection? Derrick Bird was licensed to possess his firearms. Is a more proportionate response amendments to the existing weapons certification process? These are some of the questions which this article seeks to address. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variable mortgage contracts dominate the UK mortgage market. The dominance of the variable rate mortgage contracts has important consequences for the transmission mechanism of monetary policy decisions and systemic risks. This raises an obvious concern that a mortgage market such as that in the UK, where the major proportion of mortgage debt is either at a variable or fixed for less than two years rate, is vulnerable to alterations in the interest rate regime. Theoretically, mortgage choice is determined by demand and supply factors. So far, most of the existing literature has focused on the demand side perspective, and what is limited is consideration of supply side factors in empirical investigation on mortgage choice decisions. This paper uniquely explores whether supply side factors may partially explain observed/ex-post mortgage type decisions. Empirical results detect that lenders’ profit motives and mortgage funding/pricing issues may have assisted in preferences toward variable rate contracts. Securitisation is found to positively impact upon gross mortgage lending volumes while negatively impacting upon the share of variable lending flows. This shows that an increase in securitisation not only improves liquidity in the supply of mortgage funds, but also has the potential to shift mortgage choices toward fixed mortgage debt. The policy implications may involve a number of measures, including reconsideration of the capital requirements for the fixed, as opposed to the variable rate mortgage debt, growing securitisation and optimisation of the mortgage pricing policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the network paradigm has led to growing interest in understanding network structures relating to knowledge flows and patterns of regional innovation. This paper explores the structure of knowledge networks stemming from ties between universities and other actors, principally firms. Based upon a network analysis of empirical data for regions across the UK, it is found that the most innovative and economically developed regions are more likely to be the location for actors holding highly central and influential positions within knowledge network architectures. It is concluded that network structures, and resulting stocks of structural network capital, influence patterns of regional innovation and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses selected results from the AHRC-funded ‘Managing Access to the Internet in Public Libraries’ (MAIPLE) project and explores Wi-Fi Internet access in UK public libraries. It investigates how this compares to commercial provision of public Wi-Fi. It discusses security issues, filtering of Wi-Fi access and acceptable use policies. A mixed methods approach was used involving a review of the literature, a questionnaire survey of UK public library authorities and five case studies of selected authorities. A majority of UK public library authorities offer Wi-Fi access to the public at one or more of their libraries and they generally have an authentication system in place for their users. The majority of survey respondents that provide Wi-Fi use filtering software. There are similarities and differences in the ways that public libraries and commercial outlets provide and manage access to their wireless networks. Differences mainly relate to security and privacy: these differences reflect to an extent the underlying purposes of providing public Wi-Fi access as well as legal obligations. In some ways, public library Wi-Fi access is better managed than commercially provided public services. Evidence from the case studies suggests reluctant acceptance of filtering on the part of public library authorities, based on a perceived need to balance providing access to information with providing a safe and trusted public space for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In times of austerity and police budget cuts, it is important to understand the demand on the UK police service in order to reduce it effectively. This paper reviews the demand on a division within a police service in England over the period of a year. Utilising police data records, it combined descriptive statistics with content analysis to identify areas of demand. Findings revealed that the majority of the Constabulary’s resources were spent addressing non-traditional police demand. Results indicate that the police could potentially reduce demand for service by enhancing work within two key areas: partnership working and early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersectionality is the study of overlapping social identities and related systems of oppression, discrimination and domination. From an intersectional perspective, aspects of a person’s identity, for example race, class and gender are understood to be enmeshed. To understand how systemic injustice operates and is produced, a multi-dimensional framework which captures how forms of oppression intersect and are shaped by one another, is necessary. Although the merits of an intersectional approach in criminology have been widely shown and discussed in US scholarship, within British criminology, there have been few analyses that have implemented an intersectional lens – either explicitly or implicitly. Correspondingly, close examination of the social construction of race within the criminal justice system has been largely absent in British criminology. In the following paper, I suggest that these two developments are co-constitutive – that British criminology’s unwillingness to engage with race has resulted in the reticence towards an intersectional approach and vice versa. This is both problematic and a missed opportunity. At a time when much criminological research convenes around the intersection of race, class, religion and gender, the absence of intersectional approaches and the lack of discussion about the racializing consequences of the criminal justice system serve to stymie meaningful debate and advancement of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between February 2012 and March 2015, the claim that sex selection abortion was taking place in Britain and that action needed to be taken to stop it dominated debate in Britain about abortion. Situating an analysis in sociological and social psychological approaches to the construction of social problems, particularly those considering “feminised” re-framings of anti-abortion arguments, this paper presents an account of this debate. Based on analysis of media coverage, Parliamentary debate and official documents, we focus on claims about grounds (evidence) made to sustain the case that sex selection abortion is a British social problem and highlight how abortion was problematised in new ways. Perhaps most notable, we argue, was the level of largely unchallenged vilification of abortion doctors and providers, on the grounds that they are both law violators and participants in acts of discrimination and violence against women, especially those of Asian heritage. We draw attention to the role of claims made by feminists in the media and in Parliament about “gendercide” as part of this process and argue that those supportive of access to abortion need to critically assess both this aspect of the events and also consider arguments about the problems of “medical power” in the light of what took place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assess the findings of the UK energy market investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, conducted during June 2014-June 2016. We argue that the results of the investigation have been advantageous for the large energy companies and they risk failing to bring any significant and positive change to the energy industry. We highlight three major aspects of the Competition and Markets Authority's assessment. First, the panel examined retail and wholesale segments of the energy industry in isolation, which can be misleading in the assessment of vertical integration. It also considered new entries to the sector as a sign of competitive strength when many were due to favourable government policies in the form of exemptions from various obligations. Second, its conclusion that a position of unilateral market power by the large energy companies arises from weak customer engagement (i.e. low switching rates) shifts the focus and responsibility for the problems of the energy markets away from the conduct of the companies onto customers. Finally, the investigation placed an overemphasis on competition without due reference to its consequences for consumers' welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social housing across Western Europe has become significantly more residualised as governments concentrate on helping vulnerable households. Many countries are trying to reduce the concentrations of deprivation by building for a wider range of households and tenures. In England this policy has two main strands: (1) including other tenures when regenerating areas originally built as mono-tenure social housing estates and (2) introducing social rented and low-cost homeownership into new private market developments through planning obligations. By examining where new social housing and low-cost home ownership homes have been built and who moves into them, this paper examines whether these policies achieve social mix and reduce spatial concentrations of deprivation. The evidence suggests that new housing association development has enabled some vulnerable households to live in areas which are not deprived, while some better-off households have moved into more deprived areas. But these trends have not been sufficient to stem increases in deprivation in the most deprived areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous anecdotal examples of drought terminations documented throughout the historical record on most continents. The end of a drought is the critical time during which water resource managers urgently require information on the replenishment of supplies. Yet this phase has been relatively neglected by the academic community, with much of the existing body of research on drought termination assessing the likelihood of droughts ending rather than its temporal profile. In particular, there has been little effort to characterise drought termination events themselves. This is partly explained by existing definitions of drought termination as a specific point in time when drought is considered to have finished, rather than a more holistic consideration based on approaches developed within biological sciences. There is also a lack of understanding about how drought termination propagates through the hydrological cycle. This paper specifically examines and reviews available research on drought termination, highlighting limitations associated with current definitions and offering suggestions for characterising the temporal stages of drought. An alternative definition of drought termination is proposed: a period between the maximum negative anomaly and a return to above-average conditions. Once this phase has been delineated, the duration, rate and seasonality of drought termination can be derived. The utility of these metrics is illustrated through a case study of the 2010-2012 drought in the UK, and the propagation of drought termination between river flows and groundwater levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role re-location has played in shaping the status of elite and middle-class schools in and around London. A Bourdieusian lens is applied to understand the institutional trajectories of 51 schools which moved from central London out to the suburbs and beyond between the 1860s and 1970s. It is argued that this strategy served to maintain, reinforce and create institutional prestige within the ‘field’ of schools serving the upper and middle classes. These re-locations have had a lasting effect on London’s school system, pushing key institutions of elite social reproduction outwards and away from the city centre. In discussing the motivations for re-location, Bourdieu’s (1996) theory of field and elite formation is used with specific reference to urban change, thus developing a Bourdieusian-historical approach to understanding the geography of social reproduction (Thiem, 2009). The focus on London also sets these re-locations in the context of broader socio-spatial shifts within the British upper and middle classes, in which new social formations were emerging, with an aristocratic-financial elite concentrated in the south-east of England (Anderson, 1964; Rubinstein, 1977). Re-location formed part of a broader process of urban and socio-economic transformation which created a powerful educational infrastructure for the upper and middle classes in and around London. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In its 2011 report Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales (Law Com No. 325), the Law Commission recommended that the admissibility of expert evidence in criminal proceedings should be governed by a new statutory regime comprising a new statutory reliability test in combination with codification and refinement of existing common law principles relating to ‘assistance’, ‘expertise’ and ‘impartiality’. The government declined to enact the Law Commission’s draft Bill due to a lack of certainty as to whether the additional costs incurred would be offset by savings. Instead the government invited the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee (CrimPRC) to consider amendments to the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR) to introduce, as far as possible, the spirit of the Law Commission’s recommendations. The consequent amendments to CrimPR Part 33 (now CrimPR Part 19) in combination with the making of the new Practice Direction CrimPD 33A (now CrimPD 19A) by the Lord Chief Justice resulted in what he described in his 2014 Criminal Bar Association Kalisher Lecture as ‘a novel way of implementing an excellent Report’. This paper considers the possible evolution of the common law in light of these amendments, the challenges associated with adopting such a novel approach to reform and the potential opportunities for the improvement of expert evidence in criminal proceedings that the changes were intended to create. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 criminal law looks set to play a larger role in regulating healthcare. Until recently, health professionals only faced the prospect of criminal liability if it could be proved that their gross negligence resulted in the death of a patient. In such a case, the professional could face a charge of gross negligence manslaughter (GNM). Prosecutions for ‘medical manslaughter’ have generated concern among doctors worried about what is perceived as a rise in the number of doctors facing criminal prosecution and the impact prosecutions are having on healthcare practice. May more frequent resort to the criminal process damage rather than promote better health care? In seeking to try to answer this question, the first problem is that reliable data in this area about how many prosecutions are brought and how they fare are limited due to the way cases are recorded. What evidence does exist is often based on media reports or samples that are not representative. This paper will argue that, while the real risk of being prosecuted for medical manslaughter remains low, such fears should not be dismissed because, as Donald Berwick has argued, ‘fear is toxic’ – for health professionals and their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overheating is increasingly becoming a key issue for building design across the world. In the UK, better building fabric performance and warmer weather can increase the risk of overheating events in badly designed buildings. The impacts of these overheating events could be reduced by adapting building designs at an early design stage using building thermal models using appropriate weather data such as a design summer year. In this work, a method to determine probabilistic design summer years will be presented. These years take into account the return periods of actual events, are presented within a probabilistic framework and therefore include a description of the severity of the year at each location.Practical application: Design summer years are designed to be used to optimise building performance in terms of thermal comfort at design stage. This paper demonstrates a method to create probabilistic design summer years which contain a range of overheating events which can be used to inform designers of the overheating risk to occupants. The proposed method is then used to generate new near extreme weather files for the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the experiences and support needs of British Pakistani families of prisoners through in-depth interviews with six family members of different prisoners: four males and two females, ranging between 18 and 40 years. Key findings are that British Pakistani family members of prisoners experienced the Criminal Justice System as culturally inappropriate and insensitive, raising questions of direct, indirect and institutional racism. Furthermore, family members were more likely to access support if criminal justice and support services staff were drawn from the wider British Pakistani community, but felt hindered from doing so if those staff were thought to have personal relationships to the families’ own local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All major religions accept that organ donation is an individual choice and the same is true when it comes to donating one's whole body to medical science. While religious groups have 'official' views, it is common, given the various denominations and subgroups within a religion, to have deviation from the official message. This paper provides some insight into the views of religious leaders from one local community in the UK on the act of body donation. The paper also demonstrates the importance that the Abrahamic religions place on providing opportunities for remembrance and thanksgiving for those who have died and how this is extended through the services of thanksgiving that are held by medical schools for those who have donated their bodies to medical science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about the documents, papers and reports related to law. The report titled "Criminal Jury Trials: Challenges for Cause Procedures," discusses the final policy positions of the criminal rules in Canada. The paper "Keeping the Right People on the DNA Database," published in Great Britain, reports the benefits of DNA and fingerprints in bringing out justice against the criminals. A consultation paper from Australia, "Model Spent Convictions Bill," is also presented.

Hadley and Hadfield (2006)1 discussed the steps being undertaken to launch a managed learning environment (MLE) in a large acute NHS Trust. The MLE was formally launched to a range of Trust staff in the spring of 2007. This paper considers the development of a formally classroom-based programme into one offering a blended approach. The Beacon Leadership programme chosen for this mode of learning is a high-profile course for clinical inter professional managers and aims to meet one of the key Trust objectives, to 'relentlessly improve patient experience and safety'. The programme has been developed in house and is only delivered to North Bristol Trust staff. This paper explores the development, instigation and evaluation of MLE use during the Beacon programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that qualitative research is both useful and necessary, as it provides an essential means of gaining a richer understanding of patients' perceptions, social processes and meanings. In their paper in this edition of Clinical Ethics, Hallowell and Lawton raise many issues relating to the way that qualitative research is treated by RECs in the UK. In this paper I discuss just three key topics stimulated by their paper: the way that methodology relates to ethics, the experience and character of the researcher, and the normative/descriptive distinction. I strongly support Hallowell and Lawton's appeal for greater communication between qualitative researchers and RECs. In other respects, I would argue that they do not go far enough. The recent review of research ethics structures and the review process provides an opportunity to move away from the present 'one size fits all' approach to ethical review. I would argue that this change could only benefit qualitative research and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NHS research governance makes it almost impossible to collect certain kinds of data on the everyday life of hospitals and the experience of patients. Fortunately, those of us who get sick enough to be admitted can write about the experience without fear of regulation. This paper presents some observations on clinical ethics, ward organization and infection control that would have been difficult to obtain in any other way, but which illustrate the policy and information costs of the present system. While not personally recommending this as a research strategy, the paper identifies a growing evidence gap and comments on its implications for the delivery of humane and well-organized care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a paper from John Fry, one of the giants of general practice (GP) in Great Britain, which focused on medical staffing requirements. The paper contained skill mix and work sharing across the primary health care team, the mantra about creating a national service, and independence in organizing general practice services. Additionally, it provides annual summary and figures on total consultations, daily and weekly workload totals for the practice per GP and hospital referrals.

This paper reviews recent changes in the provision and organization of primary care in the UK. Access and availability are of prime importance to patients, particularly when medical care is sought urgently, and are therefore important elements of quality. The paper also discusses the possible impact of further changes in the delivery of primary care, including overlapping responsibilities of general practice and accident and emergency (A&E) departments and the role of NHS Direct, a telephone advice service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streamlined Forensic Reporting (SFR) is a case management procedure recently introduced in the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It involves a proportionate use and staged producing of the forensic evidence at court, by means of abbreviated forensic reports, depending on whether the defence will agree or take issue with the forensic evidence that the prosecution intends to rely upon. SFR aims to achieve an early identification of the real issues in the case and to reduce costs and delays associated with the use of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings. This paper analyses the most significant aspects of the SFR procedure. It argues that, while SFR offers several advantages, the inappropriate use of SFR and case fragmentation in terms of investigation and preparation of forensic work within the background of cost-cutting pressures, could threaten the delivery of justice and the role of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although migrants dominate employment in many major cities, the reasons for this, and the mechanisms by which they are recruited, are surprisingly under-researched. Focusing on the numerically dominant small hotel sub-sector in a global city, London, the paper first questions whether labour costs or competences are the main drivers of migrant employment, emphasising the difficulties of disentangling the relationships between these. Secondly, it analyses how migrant workers are recruited, and finds less evidence to support the concepts of ethnic queuing and co-ethnic recruitment as opposed to diversified migrant recruitment in the context of the super-diversity of migrant populations in a global city. Finally, it demonstrates that although there are compelling reasons for migrant employment in London’s small hotels, and that this is supported by a number of recruitment practices, they are unevenly distributed across establishments, reflecting the complex nature of migrant employment in a highly diverse sub-sector. The research utilises mixed methods, drawing on a survey of 155 hotel managers and 51 in-depth interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the traffic-related effects of a proposal to increase the speed limit from 40 mile/h to 50 mile/h, for heavy goods vehicles greater than 7.5 tonnes, on single carriageway roads. A ‘microscopic’ single carriageway traffic simulation is developed by combining the ‘enhanced intelligent driver model’ with a single carriageway gap-acceptance passing model. Fuel consumption estimates are made using engine characteristic maps and a ‘fuel optimal’ gear selection scheme, where vehicle trajectories from the traffic simulations are taken as input drive-cycles. Traffic congestion and fleet fuel consumption are specifically addressed, though implications regarding passing behaviour and traffic safety are also noted. Results indicate that the proposed 50 mile/h heavy goods vehicles speed limit would reduce traffic congestion by over 37% and increase fleet fuel consumption by approximately 0.5 L/100 km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades the number of women having their first babies over the age of 35 in the United Kingdom has increased. Women’s timing of motherhood is invariably bound up with a discourse of “choice”, and in this paper we consider the role choice plays in the timing of motherhood among women who have been defined as “older” mothers. This article is based on data from 11 semi-structured interviews that explored the transition to motherhood among “older” middle-class mothers. The interviews were analysed using critical discursive psychology. The women drew upon two dominant repertoires when making sense of their timing of motherhood. Within the first repertoire, “older motherhood as circumstance”, older motherhood was presented as the outcome of life circumstances beyond their control, with a lack of the “right” circumstances facilitating “delayed” motherhood. Within the second repertoire, “older motherhood as readiness”, women constructed themselves as (now) prepared for motherhood. “Readiness” was bound up with notions of self-fulfilment, yet also assessments of their ability to be “good” mothers. We conclude that, far from a straightforward choice, the timing of motherhood is shaped by cultural definitions of the “right” circumstances for parenthood, but also cultural definitions of “good” motherhood, which may define when women are “ready”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To review the evidence on commissioning schemes involving clinicians in the United Kingdom National Health Service, between 1991 and 2010; report on the extent and impact of clinical engagement; and distil lessons for the development of such schemes both in the UK and elsewhere. Methods A review of published evidence. Five hundred and fourteen abstracts were obtained from structured searches and screened. Full-text papers were retrieved for UK empirical studies exploring the relationship between commissioners and providers with clinician involvement. Two hundred and eighteen published materials were reviewed. Results The extent of clinical engagement varied between the various schemes. Schemes allowing clinicians to act autonomously were more likely to generate significant engagement, with ‘virtuous cycles’ (experience of being able to make changes feeding back to encourage greater engagement) and ‘vicious cycles’ (failure to influence services generating disengagement) observed. Engagement of the wider general practitioner (GP) membership was an important determinant of success. Most impact was seen in GP prescribing and the establishment of services in general practices. There was little evidence of GPs engaging more widely with public health issues. Conclusion Evidence for a significant impact of clinical engagement on commissioning outcomes is limited. Initial changes are likely to be small scale and to focus on services in primary care. Engagement of GP members of primary care commissioning organizations is an important determinant of progress, but generates significant transaction costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the value to librarians of seeing research data management as a ‘wicked’ problem. Wicked problems are unique, complex problems which are defined differently by different stakeholders making them particularly intractable. Data from 26 semi-structured in-depth telephone interviews with librarians was analysed to see how far their perceptions of research data management aligned with the 16 features of a wicked problem identified from the literature. To a large extent research data management is perceived to be wicked, though over time good practices may emerge to help to ‘tame’ the problem. How interviewees thought research data management should be approached reflected this realisation. The generic value of the concept of wicked problems is considered and some first thoughts about how the curriculum for new entrants to the profession can prepare them for such problems are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a socio-technical building performance evaluation approach to forensically and systematically evaluate the actual performance of two case study dwellings located in a flagship eco-housing development in the UK, during the post-construction/initial occupation stage. The 12-month study captures the ‘as-built’ performance of the building envelope (principally heat loss) and installed equipment along with remote monitoring of energy use and environmental conditions, review of the handover processes and initial experiences of the occupants in relation to the home environment. It is found that actual annual energy use and CO2 emissions of the case study dwellings exceed design predictions by factors of 1.8 and 2.5, respectively. The main reasons for this gap are complex interdependencies that occur across the performance of building fabric and energy systems, usability of controls and occupant expectations and behaviour. Underperformance of mechanical ventilation and heat recovery systems and air source heat pumps results from inadequate commissioning and maintenance procedures and poor occupant control due to complex control interfaces. Furthermore, unclear user guidance and inadequate training during handover lead to poor occupant understanding of the mechanical ventilation and heat recovery systems and heat pumps, resulting in their misuse. The findings have proved that building performance evaluation processes are vital for examining operational outcomes and discovering performance-related issues that would otherwise go unreported and lead to bigger problems in future.Practical application: The methodological approach for evaluating housing performance adopted in this study provides design and construction teams with a practical approach to diagnose workmanship issues with building fabric and any installation or commissioning issues with energy systems and services. Maintenance regime of heating and ventilation system should be clarified at the installation and commissioning stage. Maintenance contracts should be set up for unfamiliar low carbon systems such as heat pumps, MVHR. Occupants need to be trained through graduated and extended handover that involves occupants trying out systems and controls in the presence of trained housing officers, supplemented by visual home user guides (developed by the architects) offering clear guidance on the daily and seasonal operation of systems and controls. Learning from such real-world case studies, from design to early occupation, is helpful in understanding the exact causes of the performance gap and how it can be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an insight into the complex relationship between Britain’s amateur cavalry regiments – the Yeomanry Cavalry – and their political and military masters during the reforming of the Territorial Army in the early 1920s. It discusses the force’s use of its influential political lobby to shape its future in the face of a determined restructuring exercise of the whole Territorial Army, but argues against the suggestion it was simply reactionary or anachronistic in its approach. As a county institution with a pedigree stretching back more than 125 years, the Yeomanry was naturally opposed to the fundamental changes being forced upon it: being dismounted to rebalance the Territorial Army with more artillery and a number of armoured car regiments. However, despite the interference of powerful advocates and elements of the force itself, and the eventual minor alterations to the original General Staff plan, the vast majority of regiments converted successfully to new arms, with only one voluntarily disbanding. This analysis finishes by highlighting the considerations that have always limited political interference with the Territorial Army, providing a cautionary historical example of the dangers of asking too much from the voluntary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to present issues relating to female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM) in a manner which is more socio-legal than is usual in this journal, partly because, while there is an important new statute, the Serious Crimes Act 2015, the accepted view of FGM across the world (e.g. mention is made below of Egypt) is that criminal law alone is most unlikely to prevent or deter FGM; this approach is very much that recently adopted in England and Wales and indeed in the other countries within the UK. Changing criminal law affecting women and girls at risk of FGM in the UK is, moreover, of little use if ‘vacation cutting’ (see below) takes place. Non-coercive means within a comprehensive strategy, including cross-agency action and utilising NGOs, seem in this arena to be more successful than coercive ones. Criminal law is dealt in this article within this socio-legal context and not in a freestanding manner as is usual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An immediate, effective team response is needed in order to properly cater to the needs of trauma patients. This paper aims to review some of the strategies that can be implemented in Emergency Departments to reduce errors and improve decision-making in major trauma. It focuses on the phase prior to the patient’s arrival, and in the first few minutes afterwards – as there is evidence that an organised response at this point creates the ideal conditions for all subsequent activity, such as transfer of the patient for further imaging and the requirement for emergency surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative perceptions of anti-social behaviour have been shown by previous research to have harmful repercussions to both an individual’s mental and physical health as well as the neighbourhood’s long-term prospects. Studies in the USA have previously found that the location of alcohol supply points is associated with these negative perceptions, whereas recent, more qualitative and ethnographic research from the UK emphasises the heterogenous and contingent nature of attitudes and perceptions towards alcohol consumption patterns and behaviour. Using multilevel models applied to data from a national crime survey and geocoded data on pubs, bars and nightclubs, this paper focuses on the complex relationship between perceptions of alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and the density of such establishments across England. The findings support the general link between unfavourable perceptions and density of outlets but also highlight the complexity of this association by showing that these relationships are dependent on other characteristics of the neighbourhood, namely deprivation and the proportion of young people in the neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last five years, 2010–2014, there have been 17 instances when an application for provisional registration by a UK medical graduate was refused by the General Medical Council because the Registrar considered that the applicant’s fitness to practise was impaired. While this number is small, the fact that this can happen is largely unappreciated by medical students and their teachers, the prevailing false assumption being that passing finals and graduation is the final hurdle before taking up a Foundation Programme post. It is a poorly recognised fact that just because a university fitness to practise committee has concluded that a student is fit to practise there is no guarantee that the General Medical Council will come to the same decision. This paper explains the reasons for these refusals and makes suggestions for students and medical schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nearest relatives of mental patients play an important role. They refer them informally or formally (by making an application for their admission) to hospital; they are consulted about applications for admission for treatment under s 3 of the Mental Health Act (made by Approved Mental Health Professionals); they can order, subject to a medical veto, the discharge of some compulsorily detained patients; they make applications to the Mental Health Review Tribunal, etc. However, choosing which is the nearest relative for this purpose is not open to even a competent mental patient but has to be selected from a prescribed list under s 26 of the Mental Health Act 1983 though a patient can initiate proceedings to displace their statutory “nearest relative”. This has resulted in court cases, most recently JT v United Kingdom [2000] 1 FLR 909. Further, when an application for treatment under s 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is made by an Approved Mental Health Professional, s 11(4) of the Act requires that applicant, first, to consult with the patient’s nearest relative. This issue arose in TW v Enfield LBC [2014] EWCA Civ. 362. This paper considers and comments on these and other issues and identifies two unsatisfactory features of the law and makes recommendations for reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a reply to the comments made by scholar Michael Ivens on a paper contributed by the author on labour market deregulation and economic performance in Great Britain's dock industry. Contrary to Ivens claim, the author clarifies, that the reason for declining employment and job prospects at Great Britain's Scheme ports is mechanisation and the country's changing trade pattern. Further, the author opines that Ivens appears to contradict himself when talking about the importance of cost and other factors. A recent study of transport decision-makers found that regularity of cargo on offer was the most important factor in the route planning of ships within Europe. The author clarifies that his paper on dock strikes did not predict an explosion of strikes. In reply to Ivens criticism that the paper is outrageously biased, the author opines that this is a matter of personal opinion. Research material on which the paper draws is based on interviews with over 40 port managers, a survey of over 300 port employers and a number of detailed case studies.

This paper argues for an increased emphasis on the institutions of risk governance and management in understanding urban resilience. This moves analysis of vulnerability away from a focus on individuals to also consider risk management regimes as co-productive of vulnerability and resilience in the City. This is illustrated through the application of an Adaptive Capacity Index to unpack the role played by formal governance institutions in mediating resilience to extreme heat events in the empirical case of London. Analysis shows that the configuration of risk at the institutional level directs heat wave risk management through the health services, and operationalises it during the emergency phase of hazard onset. This misses an important opportunity for integrating individual and regime level risk management initiatives, which we proposed can be worked out through greater collaboration with social services and interaction with those caring for the vulnerable, has yet to be fully integrated into planning and practice in London and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we explore the case of Stokes Croft, Bristol, UK, as a neighbourhood in a city which has appropriated the discourse of the creative industries from the bottom up in order to foster its regeneration against capital’s art of rent. We show how Stokes Croft’s self-branding as a cultural quarter has led to struggles over the creative and cultural commons thus produced, which we conceptualise as value struggles where localised value practices clash with capital’s imposition of value. Our case study including two vignettes points both to the productivity of such value struggles in producing new value practices understood as commoning, as well as the limits of reproducing a common life in the face of existing financial and property regimes. Stokes Croft therefore serves as a case in point of the tragedy of the urban commons and points to potential ways of overcoming it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The recent financial crisis has revealed the financial vulnerability faced by a significant number of households in the UK. Households experiencing financial problems may potentially fall into arrears in meeting financial obligations such as rent, mortgage payments or household bills. Indeed, such arrears have been regarded as one of the most direct measures of financial stress at the household level. In this paper, we explore the relationship between household repayment behaviour and neighbourhood ties in order to identify possible channels of support for households experiencing financial stress. We analyse data on 17,723 households drawn from wave 1 of the UK longitudinal study, Understanding Society, merged with information on neighbourhood ties defined at the postcode area level elicited from a sample of 48,906 individuals. Our findings, which relate to the post financial crisis era, suggest that households in regions characterised by strong neighbourhood ties are less likely to report being in arrears and that this relationship is particularly apparent in the case of housing costs. This inverse relationship is strongest in regions characterised by a high density of individuals who feel able to turn to someone in the neighbourhood for support or advice. Thus, neighbourhood and community groups, which enhance social interaction and neighbourhood ties, may be effective channels of support for financially vulnerable households. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The financial sustainability of publicly funded health care systems is a challenge to policymakers in many countries as health care absorbs an ever increasing share of both national wealth and government spending. New technology, aging populations and increasing public expectations of the health care system are often cited as reasons why health care systems need ever increasing funding as well as reasons why universal and comprehensive public systems are unsustainable. However, increases in health care spending are not usually linked to corresponding increases in need for care within populations. Attempts to promote financial sustainability of systems such as limiting the range of services is covered or the groups of population covered may compromise their political sustainability as some groups are left to seek private cover for some or all services. In this paper, an alternative view of financial sustainability is presented which identifies the failure of planning and management of health care to reflect needs for care in populations and to integrate planning and management functions for health care expenditure, health care services and the health care workforce. We present a Health Care Sustainability Framework based on disaggregating the health care expenditure into separate planning components. Unlike other approaches to planning health care expenditure, this framework explicitly incorporates population health needs as a determinant of health care requirements, and provides a diagnostic tool for understanding the sources of expenditure increase. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Part of making visible the complex of institutions and practices that create and make knowable experiences of debt-related distress is to focus on the classed nature of these experiences. Contemporary bureaucracies of debt and distress need to be understood as reproducing divisions of status, power, and access to resources. The imposition of precarious forms of wage labour for those trapped at the bottom of what is an increasingly polarizing class structure has been shaped by very specific sets of financial practices where a deregulated personal debt industry has integrated subordinate classes into a web of financial relations through private pensions, consumer credit, and mortgages. This article draws upon empirical research with a range of stakeholders in the UK mainstream credit industry. We contend that the institutional logics, discourses, myths, and operational processes of the variety of agencies and actors in the UK mainstream credit sector have, through the radical changes of financial liberalization, evolved into a functional industry. This industry serves to enable, support, and enact social relational and economic practices that can best be understood through the metaphor of parasitism. This paper explores the specific organizational and relational practices that allow the financial exploitation of a beleaguered precariat. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper involves analysis of the law covering discrimination in the workplace against workers who have entered into a formal marriage or a civil partnership, referred to here as ‘marital discrimination’. It also looks at the law dealing with discrimination against single workers. The case law in the United Kingdom concerning both these issues is considered and the protection under the law of the European Union and human rights legislation is analysed. In addition, the legal treatment of discrimination in the workplace against people who have entered into a heterosexual or same-sex marriage in the United States is considered. Recommendations are made for changing the law in both the UK and the US in light of the unclear legal rules and inadequate protection in both jurisdictions for victims of marital and singles discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United Kingdom, individuals requiring inpatient care for mental health purposes can be admitted to hospital with their consent as informal patients, or formally through procedure(s) prescribed by law. There are, however, instances where individuals otherwise referred to as informal patients are on admission without their consent or in circumstances that amount to deprivation of their liberty as defined by the United Kingdom Supreme Court and without recourse to lawful procedures by their clinical team as stipulated by the European Convention on Human Rights. Such instances might be without the awareness of the individuals or their clinical teams or the clinical teams might be unclear as to which statute applies to patient care. This paper has been written to help clinicians define the legal status of patients at the point of admission, during their stay on the inpatient unit and the statute(s) that apply to different in-patient situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of an online survey concerning the management of Internet access in UK public libraries. All UK public library authorities were invited to complete the survey which had a response rate of 39%. The survey explored the ways in which acceptable use of the Internet in public libraries is managed through the use of mechanisms such as filtering software and authentication of identity. All 80 responding public library authorities used filtering software. Procedures for authenticating identity for static Internet access were uniform whereas wireless access was much less regulated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the concept of the post-secular city by examining the growing presence of Street-Pastors in the night-time economy of British cities. Street-Pastors are Christian volunteers who work to ensure the safety of people on a ‘night out’. We contribute to work that has called for greater attention to be placed on the ways in which religious faith and ethics are performed to create liminal spaces of understanding in urban areas. Drawing upon in-depth ethnographic research conducted in a range of UK towns and cities, we consider this distinct form of faith-based patrolling in relation to the spatial processes and practices of urban-nightscapes. By exploring the geographies of Street-Pastors, we not only contribute to more nuanced accounts of ‘drinking spaces’ but provide an empirical engagement with the growing body of work on urban rhythms and encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate change is expected to modify rainfall, temperature and catchment hydrological responses across the world, and adapting to these water-related changes is a pressing challenge. This paper reviews the impact of anthropogenic climate change on water in the UK and looks at projections of future change. The natural variability of the UK climate makes change hard to detect; only historical increases in air temperature can be attributed to anthropogenic climate forcing, but over the last 50 years more winter rainfall has been falling in intense events. Future changes in rainfall and evapotranspiration could lead to changed flow regimes and impacts on water quality, aquatic ecosystems and water availability. Summer flows may decrease on average, but floods may become larger and more frequent. River and lake water quality may decline as a result of higher water temperatures, lower river flows and increased algal blooms in summer, and because of higher flows in the winter. In communicating this important work, researchers should pay particular attention to explaining confidence and uncertainty clearly. Much of the relevant research is either global or highly localized: decision-makers would benefit from more studies that address water and climate change at a spatial and temporal scale appropriate for the decisions they make. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a burgeoning international literature on hydro-climatic trend detection, motivated by the need to detect and interpret any emerging changes in river flows associated with anthropogenic climate change. The UK has a particularly strong evidence base in this area thanks to a well-developed monitoring programme and a wealth of studies published over the last 20 years. This paper reviews this research, with a view to assessing the evidence for climate change influences on UK river flow, including floods and droughts. This assessment is of international relevance given the scale of the research effort in the UK, a densely monitored and data-rich environment, but one with significant human disturbances to river flow regimes, as in many parts of the world. The review finds that changes can be detected in river flow regimes, some of which agree with future change projections, while others are in apparent contradiction. Observed changes generally cannot be attributed to climate change, largely due to the fact that river flow records are limited in length and the identification of short-term trends is confounded by natural variability. A UK ‘Benchmark’ network of near-natural catchments is an internationally significant example of an initiative to enable climate variability to be discerned from direct human disturbances (e.g. abstractions, dam construction). Generally, however, the problem of attribution has been tackled rather indirectly in the UK, as elsewhere, and more efforts are required to attribute change in a more rigorous manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, trauma care has become its own speciality. The creation of major trauma centres across the UK highlighted a clear clinical need to advance services for multiple injury patients who are known to have poor prognostic outcome. The story of trauma care development goes back well before the creation of the National Health Service (NHS). Although originally grouped with emergency medicine, the two have developed into their own distinct branches. This paper highlights key milestones and relationships in the development of trauma medicine alongside emergency medicine, from ancient times to present day, as well as the factors that have made them distinct. Reviewing the past can help medicine move forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]