The East Midlands in 2010: introduction

The East Midlands in 2010 is the updated evidence base that supports the regional economic strategy, A Flourishing Region. It presents a statistical portrait of the region covering demography, housing, economy & productivity, the labour market, deprivation & economic inclusion, transport, infrastructure & development, the environment and the spatial structure of the economy along with a series of sub-regional profiles. This document is the introduction

The East Midlands in 2010: executive summary

The East Midlands in 2010 is the updated evidence base that supports the regional economic strategy, A Flourishing Region. It presents a statistical portrait of the region covering demography, housing, economy & productivity, the labour market, deprivation & economic inclusion, transport, infrastructure & development, the environment and the spatial structure of the economy along with a series of sub-regional profiles. This document is the executive summary

The East Midlands in 2010: the spatial economy of the East Midlands

The East Midlands in 2010 is the updated evidence base that supports the regional economic strategy, A Flourishing Region. This document presents detailed analysis of the spatial economy of the East Midlands

The urban East Midlands in 2008

The aim of this evidence base is to highlight key challenges and build a common understanding of the performance of the urban East Midlands on a range of demographic, economic, labour market, physical and environmental indicators

An Algorithm for Precise Aperture Photometry of Critically Sampled Images

We present an algorithm for performing precise aperture photometry on critically sampled astrophysical images. The method is intended to overcome the small-aperture limitations imposed by point-sampling. Aperture fluxes are numerically integrated over the desired aperture, with sinc-interpolation used to reconstruct values between pixel centers. Direct integration over the aperture is computationally intensive, but the integrals in question are shown to be convolution integrals and can be computed ~10000x faster as products in the wave-number domain. The method works equally well for annular and elliptical apertures and could be adapted for any geometry. A sample of code is provided to demonstrate the method.Comment: Accepted MNRA

Streaming primary urgent care: a prospective approach

Aim: To identify the appropriate service provider attendees of emergency departments (EDs) and walk-in centres (WiCs) in North East London and to match this to local service provision and patient choice. Design: An anonymous patient survey and a retrospective analysis of a random sample of patient records were performed. A nurse consultant, general practitioner (GP) and pharmacist used the presenting complaints in the patients’ records to independently stream the patient to primary care services, non-National Health Services or ED. Statistical analysis of level of agreement was undertaken. A stakeholder focus group reviewed the results. Subjects and setting Adult health consumers attending ED and urgent care services in North East London. Results The health user survey identified younger rather than older users (mean age of 35.6 years – SD 15.5), where 50% had not seen a health professional about their concern, with over 40% unable to obtain a convenient or emergency appointment with their GP. Over a third of the attendees were already receiving treatment and over 40% of these saw their complaint as an emergency. Over half of respondents expected to see a doctor, one-quarter expected to see a nurse and only 1% expected to see a pharmacist across both services, although WiCs are nurse-led services. More respondents expected a prescription from a visit to a WiC, whereas in the ED a third of respondents sought health advice or reassurance. Conclusion: A number of unscheduled care strategies are, or have just been, developed with the emphasis on moving demand into community-based services. Plurality of services provides service users with a range of alternative access points but can cause duplication of services and repeat attendance. Managing continued increase in emergency and unscheduled care is a challenge. The uncertainties in prospective decision making could be used to inform service development and delivery

Socio-phenomenology and conversation analysis: interpreting video lifeworld healthcare interactions

This article uses a socio-phenomenological methodology to develop knowledge and understanding of the healthcare consultation based on the concept of the lifeworld. It concentrates its attention on social action rather than strategic action and a systems approach. This article argues that patient-centred care is more effective when it is informed through a lifeworld conception of human mutual shared interaction. Videos offer an opportunity for a wide audience to experience the many kinds of conversations and dynamics that take place in consultations. Visual sociology used in this article provides a method to organize video emotional, knowledge and action conversations as well as dynamic typical consultation situations. These interactions are experienced through the video materials themselves unlike conversation analysis where video materials are first transcribed and then analysed. Both approaches have the potential to support intersubjective learning but this article argues that a video lifeworld schema is more accessible to health professionals and the general public. The typical interaction situations are constructed through the analysis of video materials of consultations in a London walk-in centre. Further studies are planned in the future to extend and replicate results in other healthcare services. This method of analysis focuses on the ways in which the everyday lifeworld informs face-to-face person-centred health care and supports social action as a significant factor underpinning strategic action and a systems approach to consultation practice

River Habitat Mapping: are Surface Flow Type Habitats Biologically Distinct?

Current river habitat mapping uses several methods, many relying on descriptions of habitat units based on depth, velocity, substrate and water surface patterns. Water surface patterns are controlled by local geomorphology and hydraulics and can be remotely sensed, if surface flow type habitats are physically and biologically distinctive this may provide a faster surveying method. Six UK lowland rivers were investigated, surface flow types were mapped and the physical characteristics of each habitat unit recorded. Samples of benthic macroinvertebrates were taken from representative units and quantified. The results show that habitat mapping, using surface flow types in small lowland streams, is viable and that those habitats have some degree of physical distinctiveness. Analysis of benthic macroinvertebrate communities shows that there is some association with mapped habitats, and therefore are potentially biologically relevant