New Perspectives From Unstructured Interviews: Young Women, Gender, and Sexuality on the Isle of Sheppey in 1980

In the early 1980s, Ray Pahl, a sociologist at the University of Kent, and PhD student Claire Wallace conducted interviews examining young people’s experiences of growing up, work, and unemployment on the Isle of Sheppey; these interviews are now deposited at the University of Essex, and this article examines how historians and others might reuse them to interrogate other subjects. The article examines one working-class young woman’s ideas about gender and sexuality in the early 1980s, using the Listening Guide method developed by psychologist Carol Gilligan to probe the individual subjectivity and emotion, as well as the cultural discourses at play in this interview. The interviewee was a young woman who was involved in a culture of casual sex with men “on the ships,” and the article focuses on how she saw the exchanges of money, drink, and gifts between them and herself, and how she avoided seeing her actions as “prostitution.” The analysis shows how in a particular locality in the early 1980s, a particular subculture could allow some young women to sidestep the dominant codes governing young, working-class women’s sexuality and go “on the ships” without seeing this as marking them as “prostitutes”’ or any related category. Thus, the article troubles the ontology of “prostitution” as a category. It also suggests how we can use a single individual’s narrative to offer a broader account of cultures or subcultures, by starting with the individual and examining how one subjectivity navigated and interacted with broader cultural discourses. Finally, this article also offers suggestions about some of the methodological and ethical issues with reusing archived sociological data but argues that it holds rich possibilities

Correlation between Boldness and Body Mass in Natural Populations of the Poeciliid Brachyrhaphis episcopi

The boldness of individual Brachyrhaphis episcopi, collected from regions of high and low predation, was investigated using two independent assays: (1) the time to emerge from cover and (2) the propensity to leave shoal mates and investigate a novel object. A strong correlation between the two assays was revealed such that fish that emerged from shelter sooner were also more likely to approach a novel object. This is indicative of a boldness personality axis acting across both behavioural contexts. Fish from high-predation areas were bolder than those from low-predation areas and males were bolder than females. A significant correlation between body mass, standard length (LS) and boldness score was also found. In general, bold fish had a greater body mass at a given LS than shy fish. These results suggest that personality traits are strongly influenced by population-specific ecological variables and may have fitness consequences in wild populations

Intact fibroblast growth factor 23 and fragments in plasma from Gambian children

SUMMARY: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is grossly elevated in Gambian children with rickets and, at a lower prevalence, in those without bone deformities. We used western blotting to mimic the detection capabilities of the C-terminal FGF23 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Only intact FGF23 hormone was present in Gambian plasma samples from children with and without rickets. INTRODUCTION: Elevated circulating FGF23 concentrations have been detected in plasma samples from Gambian children using the C-terminal Immutopics ELISA. The Immutopics ELISA detects both the intact FGF23 hormone and the C-terminal fragment. The aim of this study was to determine whether the elevated FGF23 concentrations as detected by the ELISA were predominantly due to a high proportion of intact FGF23 hormone and/or C-terminal FGF23 fragments. METHODS: Stored, frozen plasma samples from previous studies of Gambian children with known concentrations of FGF23 as determined by C-terminal Immutopics ELISA assay, were selected for western blotting analysis: from children with rickets-like bone deformities (n = 4) and local controls (n = 4), with elevated >900 RU/ml (n = 2) and normal <30 RU/ml (n = 2; from each group). The anti-FGF23 polyclonal antibody that recognizes the C-terminal of FGF23 (as used in the Immutopics kit) was used as the primary antibody and the anti-IgG polyclonal antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was used as the secondary antibody. RESULTS: Firstly, C-terminal FGF23 fragments, although detectable in standards from the Immutopics ELISA kit, were not in the Gambian plasma samples. Secondly, there was no difference in the size of FGF23 molecules present in plasma from children with rickets-like bone deformities and children from the local community. CONCLUSIONS: Western blotting has provided evidence that elevated FGF23 concentrations, as determined by the C-terminal Immutopics ELISA, measured in Gambian children with and without rickets-like bone deformities was not caused by an increased proportion of circulating inactive C-terminal fragments

Towards safer, better healthcare: harnessing the natural properties of complex sociotechnical systems

Objectives: To sustain an argument that harnessing the natural properties of sociotechnical systems is necessary to promote safer, better healthcare. Methods: Triangulated analyses of discrete literature sources, particularly drawing on those from mathematics, sociology, marketing science and psychology. Results: Progress involves the use of natural networks and exploiting features such as their scale-free and small world nature, as well as characteristics of group dynamics like natural appeal (stickiness) and propagation (tipping points). The agenda for change should be set by prioritising problems in natural categories, addressed by groups who self select on the basis of their natural interest in the areas in question, and who set clinical standards and develop tools, the use of which should be monitored by peers. This approach will facilitate the evidence-based practice that most agree is now overdue, but which has not yet been realised by the application of conventional methods. Conclusion: A key to health system transformation may lie under-recognised under our noses, and involves exploiting the naturally-occurring characteristics of complex systems. Current strategies to address healthcare problems are insufficient. Clinicians work best when their expertise is mobilised, and they flourish in groupings of their own interests and preference. Being invited, empowered and nurtured rather than directed, micromanaged and controlled through a hierarchy is preferable.5 page(s

Refugees and their preferences for relocation

Despite popular portrayals, most refugees are highly immobile once they have left their countries of origin. They are subject to the decisions of various governance actors, which affects their individual agency, sometimes trapping them in a state of involuntary immobility in host countries. This has a bearing on their preferences for relocation to a third country. We argue refugees’ preferences for relocation are a function of their perception of the effectiveness of governance actors in managing refugee situations. UN agencies often take on traditional public responsibilities for refugee populations, such as providing healthcare and education. Host governments’ responsibilities, in contrast, are commonly limited to respecting non-refoulement and providing security. Based on these competencies, we can distinguish between refugee perceptions of institutions as bestowing purely or impurely ‘agency-enhancing’ benefits. We expect these different perceptions affect refugees’ well-being in the host state, their perceived ability and aspiration to move onward, and their preferences regarding options outside legal frameworks. We test our expectations with an original survey among Syrian refugees hosted in Lebanon. We find purely agency-enhancing benefits are associated with a lower aspiration, but a higher perceived ability for onward movement. By contrast, impurely agency-enhancing benefits are associated with higher aspiration and a lower perceived ability for onward movement. Using a conjoint experiment, we also find that more positive perceptions of institutions are associated with a lower willingness to consider onward movement outside legal frameworks

Sacriston: towards a deeper understanding of place

In this report, we summarise the results of a small research project undertaken by researchers at UCL in conjunction with the Durham Miners’ Association, to explore social and economic change in the former mining village of Sacriston, supported by UCL Grand Challenges

An Estimate of Backcountry Day Use of Glacier National Park

Estimates the number of people entering the Glacier National Park backcountry for the summer season of 1988 using infrared beam-activated photography, embedded vibration sensing counters, and trailhead registration validated by personal observation. The study also developed an equation to estimate use levels in future seasons at low cost

The decline of deference and the left: An egalitarian moment for localism

The decline of deference in the UK may have given rise to greater individualism and class-dealignment at the ballot box. But for the left, argues Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, it also holds the promise of a new politics of localism and democratised policymaking - provided that the Labour party is able to grasp the opportunity