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This article compares two methods of counting COVID-19 deaths in England during the pandemic. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses death registrations and distinguishes between deaths 'involving' COVID-19 and deaths 'due to' COVID-19, while Public Health England (PHE) counts people who died following a positive COVID-19 test. The study found that there was a high overlap between the two measures, but they diverged during certain periods, particularly in the early part of the pandemic and from January 2022 onwards. Factors such as limited testing capacity and the emergence of the Omicron variant were attributed to this divergence. The article discusses changes in testing policy and the measurement of COVID-19 deaths in the UK, highlighting the importance of consistent definitions and monitoring of COVID-19 mortality. [Extracted from the article]

Drawing on Bacchi's (2009) 'What's the problem represented to be?' framework, this article provides a critical analysis of HM Government's (2021a) New Plan for Immigration. We explore how immigration is problematised, the assumptions that underlie these problematisations, alternative ways of representing the 'problem' of immigration, and the possible effects of the proposed reforms. Our article demonstrates how the New Plan is increasingly hostile towards, not only 'illegal' migrants, but an ever-widening group of people and organisations who may be viewed as facilitating illegal entry (organised criminals, hauliers) and/or those held responsible for preventing/delaying their removal (lawyers). The government's proposals risk creating a two-tiered system, increasing the exclusion experienced by those seeking asylum, and widening the net of those held responsible for immigration control. Ultimately, we conclude that while the sentiments behind the government's New Plan may not be all that 'new', they are nevertheless significant for their continuation and intensification of existing hostile policies and practices relating to immigration in the UK. This is especially so, given a number of recent global events that could have provided an opportunity to disrupt the government's problematisation of, and hostility towards, people seeking refuge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RADICAL LANDSCAPES Tate Liverpool, until September 4 RADICAL LANDSCAPES Art, identity and activism DARREN PIH AND LAURA BRUNI, EDITORS 288pp. Tate Publishing. 25 [pounds sterling] WHAT ARE WE TO DO [...]

DARING TO HOPE My life in the 1970s SHEILA ROWBOTHAM 326pp. Verso. 20 [pounds sterling]. At the end of her previous volume of memoirs, Promise of a Dream: Remembering the [...]

Putnam famously stated in his 'hunkering down' thesis that residents of diverse communities experiencing immigration retreat into their homes inhibiting the production of 'social capital'. Immigration is therefore often posited to disrupt communities and positive social interaction, ultimately increasing tension and conflict between groups. Moving beyond Putnam's simplistic account that immigration inevitably disrupts social capital, this article aims to instead show the complex features of civility and conflict that can co-exist among migrant and local communities. The research was based in a small working-class town in the North West of England that experienced the migration of Polish workers. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods, the key results show how new Polish migrants in particular demonstrate complex forms of social interaction displaying in-group hostility but out-group civility. Lenski's notion of 'status inconsistency' is used to help explain why migrants with a high level of education but a low income are particularly mistrustful and intolerant of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of students studying criminology at university has significantly increased. Yet, criminology students have been all but ignored in research, despite being key stakeholders and ambassadors in the criminological enterprise. Drawing on the analysis of 12 in-depth interviews, we explore why students are motivated to study criminology and how these motivations are linked to their past experiences and future aspirations. Using a narrative inquiry, three types of stories emerged through our analysis: stories about (1) building on existing interests, (2) understanding the 'self', and (3) securing 'justice' and 'helping' others. The stories students tell about their exposure to 'crime' help motivate their decision to study criminology, while their engagement with the discipline, enables them to make sense of these previous experiences and of themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We estimated the collective burden of mortality from autoimmune diseases among females in the United Kingdom and the effects of death certificate coding changes on this estimate. Methods. We analyzed 1993-2003 England and Wales death certificate data for 3150267 females aged 1 year or older. We identified death certificates that listed autoimmune conditions as underlying or contributory causes of death. The percentages of all female deaths attributed to autoimmune disorders and to UK official mortality categories were ranked to determine the leading causes of death. Results. In 2003, autoimmune diseases were the sixth or seventh most frequent underlying cause of death among females in all age groups below 75 years. Results were similar when both underlying and contributory causes of death were considered. The proportion of females dying with an autoimmune disorder remained relatively constant from 1993 to 2003. Analyses indicated that death counts for specific autoimmune diseases had been underestimated. Conclusions. Autoimmune diseases are a leading cause of death among females in England and Wales, but their collective impact remains hidden in current disease classification systems. Grouping these disorders together may help promote research needed to identify common determinants and future prevention strategies. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:2279-2287. doi:10.2105/ AJPH.2009.180273)

ABSTRACT Background Paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning is the leading cause of acute liver failure in Great Britain and the United States. Successful interventions to reduced harm from paracetamol poisoning are needed. [...]

MARY BEARD John Williams's novel Stoner became a must-read rediscovery of 2013. I'm afraid I resisted. But I am intending to sit down this summer with the last of his [...]

Robert Poole PETERLOO The English uprising 480pp. Oxford University Press. 25 [pounds sterling] (US $32.95). 978 0 19 878346 6 In the summer of 1819 the authorities found something new [...]

Nan Sloane THE WOMEN IN THE ROOM Labour's forgotten history 252pp. I. B. Tauris. 20 [pounds sterling] (US $29). 978 1 78831 223 3 In the mid-1890s a young shop [...]

Chris Wrigley, British Trade Unions since 1933 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2002) THIS BOOK is part of the 'New Studies in Economic and Social History' series, sponsored by the Economic [...]