Land, metal, and community : a depositional analysis of Iron age iron objects in Britain

Hingley (2006) indicates it is the specific contexts for iron object depositions which are of primary concern to their depositors. This will be tested further within this research. Here it will be argued, deposits of iron objects include both those which are routine and part of daily praxes, and others which are manufactured, carefully being used as social conversations for place-making. The social and technical aspects of the chaîne opératoire of iron objects will be explored and the relationship this may have to deposition, fully considered. The exploration for the motivations behind place-making will consider both the social and technical biographies of place or space and iron objects within. As a practising blacksmith, the author will add commentary to the performativity of craftsperson(s) producing iron and manufacturing objects.Deposition represent people’s connection to both social phenomena and routine practicalities as they move from place to place and engage in daily and ritual activity (Chadwick, 2012, 2014). Chadwick (2014) also suggests the meaning of demarcation through deposition or construction can never be fully understood by people of the present. Despite this, direct correlations between space, place, and practiced activity often with specific objects, like those of iron, may be observed in Iron Age and Roman Britain (Haselgrove and Hingley, 2006; Bradley, 2016; Rippon, 2018; Wilkinson, 2019; Bland et al., 2020). This research will further identify regional patterns in the depositional tradition of iron objects in non-burial contexts and seek further expand on what is known of deposition in Iron Age Britain

Phase 2 of the Multiple Provider Employment Zones Qualitative Study, DWP Research Report 399

This report presents the findings of a qualitative study of the operation and impact of the Multiple Provider Employment Zone (MPEZ) initiatives that have operated in four cities (London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow) since 20041. The study builds on earlier work by Cambridge Policy Consultants (Hirst et al. 2006), which concentrated on issues related to the early establishment of the MPEZ initiative and the initial experiences of Providers, Jobcentre Plus districts and customers. The Phase 2 research took place approximately one year on from the Phase 1 study and focused on tracking developments in the operation of MPEZ as the initiative became more established. The study involved interviews with EZ Providers (managers and Advisers), Jobcentre Plus representatives (managers and Advisers) and customers (young people (aged 18-24) claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), who would otherwise have returned to New Deal for Young People (NDYP)2, lone parents receiving Income Support and early entrants – see section 1.6 for full details). In order to gain a wider perspective, researchers also spoke to representatives of organisations that have employed MPEZ participants and a number of stakeholder organisations with a broad interest in local labour market policies and programmes in the MPEZ areas. In total, the research involved interviews or group discussions with over 300 individuals, providing a range and depth of qualitative information that allows a detailed picture to be established of the way that MPEZs developed between mid- 2005 and mid-2006, including the experiences of employers and the labour market destinations of MPEZ participants. A central issue addressed in the research and in this report is the ‘multiple’ element of the initiative and the value that is added through the existence of more than one Provider in each MPEZ area. Questions of allocation, choice, specialisation, competition and innovation are considered from the perspectives of Providers, Jobcentre Plus, customers, employers and stakeholders and the final sections present some conclusions and issues for consideration in relation to these topics

Developments in mental health service provision: views of service users and carers

This paper reports on a study in two NHS Mental Health Trusts in England in 2008-2009. Data were collected from staff, service users and carers to inform service and workforce developments. The findings reported relate to service users and carers and concur with staff views. They relate to modernisation of services, the challenges of a multiplicity of stakeholders and organisations, as well as the need to involve users and carers in developments. The findings resonate with national and local policy with a move away from traditional psychiatric care to integrated person-centred community care with a focus on recovery, rehabilitation and self care

The differential importance of deep and shallow seagrass to Nekton assemblages of The Great Barrier Reef

Seagrass meadows are an important habitat for a variety of animals, including ecologically and socioeconomically important species. Seagrass meadows are recognised as providing species with nursery grounds, and as a migratory pathway to adjacent habitats. Despite their recognised importance, little is known about the species assemblages that occupy seagrass meadows of different depths in the coastal zone. Understanding differences in the distribution of species in seagrass at different depths, and differences in species diversity, abundance, biomass, and size spectra, is important to fully appreciate both the ecological significance and economic importance of these seagrass meadows. Here, we assess differences in the assemblage characteristics of fish, crustacea, and cephalopods (collectively, nekton) between deep ( > 9 m; Halophila spinulosa dominant) and shallow water ( < 2 m; Halodule uninervis and/or Zostera muelleri dominant) seagrass meadows of the central Great Barrier Reef coast of Queensland, Australia. Nekton assemblage structure differed between deep and shallow seagrass. Deeper meadows were typified by juvenile emperors (e.g., Lethrinus genivittatus), hairfinned leatherjacket (Paramonacanthus japonicus) and rabbitfish (e.g., Siganus fuscescens) in both biomass per unit effort (BPUE) and catch per unit effort (CPUE), whereas shallow meadows were typified by the green tiger prawn (Penaeus semisulcatus) and pugnose ponyfish (Secutor insidiator) in both BPUE and CPUE. Both meadow depths were distinct in their nekton assemblage, particularly for socioeconomically important species, with 11 species unique to both shallow and deep meadows. However, both meadow depths also included juveniles of socioeconomically important species found in adjacent habitats as adults. The total nekton CPUE was not different between deep and shallow seagrass, but the BPUE and body mass of individual animals were greater in deep than shallow seagrass. Size spectra analysis indicated that in both deep and shallow meadows, smaller animals predominated, even more so than theoretically expected for size spectra. Our findings highlight the unique attributes of both shallow and deeper water seagrass meadows, and identify the distinct and critically important role of deep seagrass meadows within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) as a habitat for small and juvenile species, including those of local fisheries value

Uptake of the NICE osteoarthritis guidelines in primary care: a survey of older adults with joint pain

Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain and disability. NICE OA guidelines (2008) recommend that patients with OA should be offered core treatments in primary care. Assessments of OA management have identified a need to improve primary care of people with OA, as recorded use of interventions concordant with the NICE guidelines is suboptimal in primary care. The aim of this study was to i) describe the patient-reported uptake of non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments recommended in the NICE OA guidelines in older adults with a self-reported consultation for joint pain and ii) determine whether patient characteristics or OA diagnosis impact uptake. Methods A cross-sectional survey mailed to adults aged ≥45 years (n = 28,443) from eight general practices in the UK as part of the MOSAICS study. Respondents who reported the presence of joint pain, a consultation in the previous 12 months for joint pain, and gave consent to medical record review formed the sample for this study. Results Four thousand fifty-nine respondents were included in the analysis (mean age 65.6 years (SD 11.2), 2300 (56.7%) females). 502 (12.4%) received an OA diagnosis in the previous 12 months. More participants reported using pharmacological treatments (e.g. paracetamol (31.3%), opioids (40.4%)) than non-pharmacological treatments (e.g. exercise (3.8%)). Those with an OA diagnosis were more likely to use written information (OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.26,1.96), paracetamol (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.05,1.62) and topical NSAIDs (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.04,1.62) than those with a joint pain code. People aged ≥75 years were less likely to use written information (OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.40,0.79) and exercise (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.25,0.55) and more likely to use paracetamol (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.38,2.65) than those aged < 75 years. Conclusion The cross-sectional population survey was conducted to examine the uptake of the treatments that are recommended in the NICE OA guidelines in older adults with a self-reported consultation for joint pain and to determine whether patient characteristics or OA diagnosis impact uptake. Non-pharmacological treatment was suboptimal compared to pharmacological treatment. Implementation of NICE guidelines needs to examine why non-pharmacological treatments, such as exercise, remain under-used especially among older people

Discover Dentistry: encouraging wider participation in dentistry using a massive open online course (MOOC)

This paper describes how a relatively new style of online learning, a massive open online course (MOOC), may be used to raise aspirations and widen participation in dental professions. A MOOC was designed and run with the aim of engaging prospective students of dental professions in learning and discussion. Over 4,200 learners signed up, and 450 students fully completed this first run of the course. The course attracted a significantly younger demographic than is typical for MOOCs, and nearly a third who responded to the pre-course survey reported they were doing the course specifically as preparation for a dental degree. The approach also provided a platform for public engagement on the subject of dentistry with participants, both dental professionals and members of the public, contributing to discussion around the learning materials from around the world, providing a unique, internationalised perspective of oral healthcare for learners. This study shows that there is genuine potential for MOOCs to involve people from disadvantaged backgrounds in higher education by offering free, accessible, enjoyable and engaging educational experiences. The data gives us cautious optimism that these courses can play a significant role within a platform of other WP interventions

A General Bayesian Approach to Analyzing Diallel Crosses of Inbred Strains

The classic diallel takes a set of parents and produces offspring from all possible mating pairs. Phenotype values among the offspring can then be related back to their respective parentage. When the parents are diploid, sexed, and inbred, the diallel can characterize aggregate effects of genetic background on a phenotype, revealing effects of strain dosage, heterosis, parent of origin, epistasis, and sex-specific versions thereof. However, its analysis is traditionally intricate, unforgiving of unplanned missing information, and highly sensitive to imbalance, making the diallel unapproachable to many geneticists. Nonetheless, imbalanced and incomplete diallels arise frequently, albeit unintentionally, as by-products of larger-scale experiments that collect F1 data, for example, pilot studies or multiparent breeding efforts such as the Collaborative Cross or the Arabidopsis MAGIC lines. We present a general Bayesian model for analyzing diallel data on dioecious diploid inbred strains that cleanly decomposes the observed patterns of variation into biologically intuitive components, simultaneously models and accommodates outliers, and provides shrinkage estimates of effects that automatically incorporate uncertainty due to imbalance, missing data, and small sample size. We further present a model selection procedure for weighing evidence for or against the inclusion of those components in a predictive model. We evaluate our method through simulation and apply it to incomplete diallel data on the founders and F1's of the Collaborative Cross, robustly characterizing the genetic architecture of 48 phenotypes

Habitat complexity influences the structure of food webs in Great Barrier Reef seagrass meadows

Structural habitat complexity is a fundamental attribute influencing ecological food webs. Simplification of complex habitats occurs due to both natural and anthropogenic pressures that can alter productivity of food webs. Relationships between food web structure and habitat complexity may be influenced by multiple mechanisms, and untangling these can be challenging. We investigated whether (1) size spectra vary across a gradient of habitat complexity in seagrass meadows and (2) structural complexity changes the importance of different primary producers supporting the food web (determined using stable isotope analysis) in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. We found that moderately complex meadows had much steeper size spectra slopes, caused by a higher abundance of smaller animals and fewer larger animals, while meadows on either end of the complexity scale (low and a single meadow with very high complexity) had shallower slopes, indicative of a more balanced distribution of animal sizes across the spectrum. We also found that the importance of epiphytic algae as a food source was high in most meadows, despite the increase in seagrass surface area on which epiphytes could grow. The consistent importance of epiphytic algae suggests that the changes in the availability of different potential food sources did not affect food web structure. Our findings indicate that food web structure may change with variations in structural complexity because of changes in the abundance of smaller and/or larger animals. Food web structure and food sources are important determinants of the dynamic stability of food webs. Size spectra analysis is already used as a monitoring tool for assessing populations of key fisheries species in commercial fishing operations, and thus, we recommend using size spectra as a proxy for assessing the structure of the food webs in different types of seagrass meadows. Size spectra may be a useful indicator of how different meadows provide for ecosystem services such as fisheries

Resistance or appropriation? : Uptake of exercise after a nurse-led intervention to promote self-management for osteoarthritis.

The philosophical underpinning of trials of complex interventions is critiqued for not taking into account causal mechanisms that influence potential outcomes. In this article, we draw from in-depth interviews (with practice nurses and patients) and observations of practice meetings and consultations to investigate the outcomes of a complex intervention to promote self-management (in particular exercise) for osteoarthritis in primary care settings. We argue that nurses interpreted the intervention as underpinned by the need to educate rather than work with patients, and, drawing from Habermasian theory, we argue that expert medicalised knowledge (system) clashed with lay 'lifeworld' prerogatives in an uneven communicative arena (the consultation). In turn, the advice and instructions given to patients were not always commensurate with their 'lifeworld'. Consequently, patients struggled to embed exercise routines into their daily lives for reasons of unsuitable locality, sense-making that 'home' was an inappropriate place to exercise and using embodied knowledge to test the efficacy of exercise on pain. We conclude by arguing that using Habermasian theory helped to understand reasons why the trial failed to increase exercise levels. Our findings suggest that communication styles influence the outcomes of self-management interventions, reinforce the utility of theoretically informed qualitative research embedded within trials to improve conduct and outcomes and indicate incorporating perspectives from human geography can enhance Habermas-informed research and theorising

Disabling knee pain – another consequence of obesity: Results from a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Obesity is linked to knee osteoarthritis (OA) and knee pain. These are disabling problems that are more prevalent in older adults. No prospective study has estimated the impact of excess weight avoidance on the occurrence of knee pain in the general older population. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of overweight and obesity on the onset and progression of knee pain and disability in older adults living in the community. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of people aged 50 and over registered with three general practices in North Staffordshire, UK. 5784 people who had responded to a survey in March 2000 were mailed a follow-up questionnaire in March 2003. The main outcome measures were self-reported knee pain and severe knee pain and disability at 3 years measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index. RESULTS: Adjusted response to follow-up was 75%. Among responders with no knee pain at baseline, obesity predicted onset of severe knee pain (relative risk 2.8; 95% CI 1.8, 4.5 compared to normal body mass index (BMI) category). Considering overweight and obese categories together, 19% of new cases of severe knee pain over a 3-year period could potentially be avoided by a one-category shift downwards in BMI; this includes almost half of the new cases that arose in the obese group. CONCLUSION: Obesity accounts for a substantial proportion of severe disabling knee pain. As knee pain is a common disabling condition in older adults living in the community, effective public health interventions about avoidance of excess weight could have a major impact on future lower limb disability in older adults