Barriers to the inclusion of refugee and asylum-seeking children in schools in England

© 2018, © 2018 Educational Review. This article reports a study of the barriers faced by headteachers seeking to include young asylum seekers and refugees into secondary schools in England. We trace the new discourses and assemblages of authority created at city level by recent policy changes. Drawing on in-depth interviews with headteachers, we share their experiences of navigating layered ecologies of systemic challenges to their inclusive stance towards provision for newly arrived children. We argue that structural and policy moves in England towards greater emphasis on controlling (im)migration and economistic measures of educational performance, alongside centralised funding and governance and the reduction of place-based regional autonomy, have led to greater invisibility of asylum-seeking and refugee pupils and to greater vulnerability and visibility/accountability of school leaders. These changes have had an adverse impact on inclusion in English schools and cities

Seasonal variation in harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) blubber cortisol - A novel indicator of physiological state?

The authors would also like to thank DRG International Inc. for their financial support that enabled the attendance of The European Cetacean Society Conference in 2012 where part of this work was presented. This work was partly supported by the National Capability Funding from the Natural Environment Research Council and by a School of Biology Class Grant.Cortisol is one of the main glucocorticoid hormones involved in both the mammalian stress response, and in fat metabolism and energy regulation, making it of increasing interest as a biomarker for stress, health and overall physiological state. However, transient stress responses to animal handling and sampling may be important sources of measurement artefact when investigating circulating concentrations of this hormone in wildlife. Here, cortisol concentrations were measured in the plasma and, for the first time, in the blubber of live captured adult harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). Plasma cortisol concentrations were positively correlated with capture time, suggesting that they were largely driven by a stress response to the capture event. In contrast, blubber cortisol concentrations were shown not to be significantly affected by capture time and varied significantly by sex and by season, with higher concentrations during natural fasting periods of their life cycle, particularly during the moult. These results suggest that cortisol may play a key role in increased fat metabolism during highly energetically demanding periods, and that blubber concentrations have the potential to be used as physiological state indicators in phocid seals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Pulp-based computing: A framework for building computers out of paper

In this video, we describe a series of techniques for building sensors, actuators and circuit boards that behave, look, and feel like paper. By embedding electro-active inks, conductive threads and smart materials directly into paper during the papermaking process, we have developed seamless composites that are capable of supporting new and unexpected application domains in ubiquitous and pervasive computing at affordable costs

Counterfeit goods fraud: an account of its financial management

Counterfeit goods fraud is stated to be one of the fastest growing businesses in the world. Academic work examining the flows of counterfeit goods is beginning to build momentum. However, work analysing the financial mechanisms that enable the trade has been less forthcoming. This is despite the fact that over the last two decades official and media discourses have paid increasing attention to ‘organised crime’ finances in general. Based on an exploratory study that brought together academic researchers and law enforcement practitioners from the UK’s National Trading Standards, the aim of the current article is to offer an account of the financial management in the counterfeit goods trade. Focusing on tangible goods, the article addresses the ways in which capital is secured to allow counterfeiting businesses to be initiated and sustained, how entrepreneurs and customers settle payments, and how profits from the business are spent and invested. The study covers the UK in the broader context of what is a distinctly transnational trade

The prevalence of femoroacetabular impingement anatomy in Division 1 aquatic athletes who tread water

Abstract Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a disorder that causes hip pain and disability in young patients, particularly athletes. Increased stress on the hip during development has been associated with increased risk of cam morphology. The specific forces involved are unclear, but may be due to continued rotational motion, like the eggbeater kick. The goal of this prospective cohort study was to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify the prevalence of FAI anatomy in athletes who tread water and compare it to the literature on other sports. With university IRB approval, 20 Division 1 water polo players and synchronized swimmers (15 female, 5 male), ages 18–23 years (mean age 20.7 ± 1.4), completed the 33-item International Hip Outcome Tool and underwent non-contrast MRI scans of both hips using a 3 Tesla scanner. Recruitment was based on sport, with both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals included. Cam and pincer morphology were identified. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank/Rank Sum tests were used to assess outcomes. Seventy per cent (14/20) of subjects reported pain in their hips yet only 15% (3/20) sought clinical evaluation. Cam morphology was present in 67.5% (27/40) of hips, while 22.5% (9/40) demonstrated pincer morphology. The prevalence of cam morphology in water polo players and synchronized swimmers is greater than that reported for the general population and at a similar level as some other sports. From a clinical perspective, acknowledgment of the high prevalence of cam morphology in water polo players and synchronized swimmers should be considered when these athletes present with hip pain

Heterocorporealities : popular dance and cultural hybridity in UK drum 'n' bass club culture

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Not just fat : investigating the proteome of cetacean blubber tissue

Mammalian adipose tissue is increasingly being recognized as an endocrine organ involved in the regulation of a number of metabolic processes and pathways. It responds to signals from different hormone systems and the central nervous system, and expresses a variety of protein factors with important paracrine and endocrine functions. This study presents a first step towards the systematic analysis of the protein content of cetacean adipose tissue, the blubber, in order to investigate the kinds of proteins present and their relative abundance. Full depth blubber subsamples were collected from dead-stranded harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) (n = 21). Three total protein extraction methods were trialled, and the highest total protein yields with the lowest extraction variability were achieved using a RIPA cell lysis and extraction buffer based protocol. Extracted proteins were separated using 1D Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and identified using nanoflow Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization in tandem with Mass Spectrometry (nLC-ESI–MS/MS). A range of proteins were identified (n = 295) and classed into eight functional groups, the most abundant of which were involved in cell function and metabolism (45%), immune response and inflammation (15%) and lipid metabolism (11%). These proteins likely originate both from the various cell types within the blubber tissue itself, and from the circulation. They therefore have the potential to capture information on the cellular and physiological stresses experienced by individuals at the time of sampling. The importance of this proteomic approach is two-fold: Firstly, it could help to assign novel functions to marine mammal blubber in keeping with current understanding of the multi-functional role of adipose tissue in other mammals. Secondly, it could lead to the development of a suite of biomarkers to better monitor the physiological state and health of live individuals though remote blubber biopsy sampling.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Utah\u27s Water Future: Perspectives on Water Issues in Utah\u27s Wasatch Range Metropolitan Area

The iUTAH Household Survey was conducted in 2014 during a time when the State of Utah was initiating various activities aimed at charting a long-term strategy for securing Utah’s water future. Water is currently high on the state’s public policy agenda due to Utah’s rapid population growth and urbanization, future water supply uncertainties related to climate change, and the political challenges of allocating increasingly limited regional water supplies. In order to provide information relevant to water policy, planning and management, the survey focused on understanding residents’ water management practices, water experiences and concerns, as well as their support for various state and local water policies and programs. The iUTAH Household Survey gathered data from over 2,300 residents in 23 different neighborhoods that represent the diverse types of urban development occurring in the Wasatch Range Metropolitan Area of Northern Utah. The survey was successful in capturing the views, experiences, and priorities of a representative cross-section of adults living in Utah’s urban areas. Study neighborhoods were selected based upon development of a detailed urban neighborhood typology. Using a drop-off/pick-up method, the research team received responses from over 62% of the randomly selected households within study neighborhoods. This report summarizes overall findings from the survey research effort, with an emphasis on comparing the four broad study locations of Salt Lake City, other parts of the Salt Lake Valley, the Cache Valley, and the Heber Valley. Our analysis presents some overarching themes that appear across our entire study area, but also highlights differences across these four locations