Closing the gap - a regeneration strategy for Scotland?

There is a lengthy list of Scottish regeneration initiatives going back many years. Despite this, progress in bringing about lasting change often seems to have been limited. Indeed one of the more depressing things is how closely the distribution of deprived communities in 2002 matches that from the 1930s, something that Pacione comments upon in connection with Glasgow (Pacione, 1995). A cynic might be tempted to say that the main achievement of public policy since the 1930s has been not to solve the problems of deprivation, but to create new deprived areas through the social housing programmes of the 1950s and 1960s. Whilst there are many reasons for this limited success it may be that, as Edwards says, "somewhere along the way, the purpose of inner-city policies - to improve the quality of life and the life chances of people who live in the worst urban areas - has been lost sight of," (Edwards, 1995, p.697). Running various programmes and ensuring that budgets were spent by the end of the financial year all too often seems to have become the goal of policy. The means have become synonymous with the ends. However, if the aspirations of the Scottish Executive are now to be met this may change. In June 2002 the Executive published its Community Regeneration Statement, "Better Communities in Scotland: closing the gap" (Scottish Executive, 2002). This aims "to close the gap between our poorest communities and the rest of the country", (ibid, p. 1) and "turn round disadvantaged communities and create a better life for those who live in them", (ibid, p. 3). These ambitious and, as is argued below, ambiguous goals are to be attained through action in two areas. First, measures are to be taken to ensure that public services "have as much effect as possible on disadvantaged areas" (ibid, p.7). This means that, increasingly, mainstream services are to be used to tackle the problems faced by disadvantaged communities, rather than, as has tended to happen in the past, relying upon time-limited, spatially-targeted initiatives with dedicated budgets. Secondly measures are to be introduced to build social capital ("the skills, confidence, support networks and resources" (ibid, p. 7)) so that available opportunities can be taken, and created, by individuals and communities. A variety of managerial tools are to be used to attain these goals, the key one being community planning

The Gonotrophic-Age Structure of a Population of the \u3ci\u3eSimulium Venustum\u3c/i\u3e Complex (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Algonquin Park, Ontario

Eight techniques for the determination of parity and gonotrophic age were assessed for the obligatorily anautogenous blackfly-species complex, Simulium venustum Say. All females could be age-graded by the presence or absence of dilatations on the ovarioles. However, multiple dilatations on a single ovariole were not found and the Polovodova method could not be used to determine the number of completed gonotrophic cycles. Most females could be age-graded by the appearance of the Malpighian tubules, which undergo morphological changes, probably as a result of a bloodmeal. In some cases, the size of the fat body, the presence of retained (relict), mature ova and the presence of meconium in the gut could be used as accessory age-grading criteria. Insemination status, the volume of the esophageal diverticulum, and the stage of development of the terminal ovarian follicles could not be used to age-grade females. The literature of age-grading in blackflies is reviewed, with special reference to the interpretability of the Polovodova method. Seasonal changes in the gonotrophic-age structure of a population of the S. venustum complex in Algonquin Park, ON, Canada, were examined over two years. The maximal proportion of parous females in the population was 75 and 62% in the two years, respectively. There was weak evidence that parous females were more likely to host seek in the morning and nulliparous females in the afternoon. Parity declined in mid-season, due to the recruitment of newly emerged adults to the population

Adaptive Scales of Spatial Integration and Response Latencies in a Critically-Balanced Model of the Primary Visual Cortex

The brain processes visual inputs having structure over a large range of spatial scales. The precise mechanisms or algorithms used by the brain to achieve this feat are largely unknown and an open problem in visual neuroscience. In particular, the spatial extent in visual space over which primary visual cortex (V1) performs evidence integration has been shown to change as a function of contrast and other visual parameters, thus adapting scale in visual space in an input-dependent manner. We demonstrate that a simple dynamical mechanism---dynamical criticality---can simultaneously account for the well-documented input-dependence characteristics of three properties of V1: scales of integration in visuotopic space, extents of lateral integration on the cortical surface, and response latencies

Beyond the Constitution? Englishness in a post-devolved Britain

The notion that we are currently witnessing a growing commitment to English nationalism and deeper and wider identification with Englishness, as opposed to Britishness, is becoming part of the political wisdom of the age. The suggestion that the English are beginning to think of themselves as a nation with a separate identity from the other nationalities within the United Kingdom feeds into a vexed debate among politicians and commentators about the identity and future of ‘Britishness’ itself. This paper argues for the adoption of a greater sense of historical proportion about these trends, and challenges the widely held presumption that the rise of Englishness signals the death-knell of values and identities associated with Britishness

Synthesis and reactivity of a nickel(ii) thioperoxide complex: demonstration of sulfide-mediated N2O reduction.

The thiohyponitrite ([SNNO]2-) complex, [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(κ2-SNNO)] (L tBu = {(2,6-iPr2C6H3)NC( t Bu)}2CH), extrudes N2 under mild heating to yield [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(η2-SO)] (1), along with minor products [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(η2-OSSO)] (2) and [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(η2-S2)] (3). Subsequent reaction of 1 with carbon monoxide (CO) results in the formation of [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(η2-SCO)] (4), [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(S,O:κ2-SCO2)] (5), [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(κ2-CO3)] (6), carbonyl sulfide (COS) (7), and [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(S2CO)] (8). To rationalize the formation of these products we propose that 1 first reacts with CO to form [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(S)] (I) and CO2, via O-atom abstraction. Subsequently, complex I reacts with CO or CO2 to form 4 and 5, respectively. Similarly, the formation of complex 6 and COS can be rationalized by the reaction of 1 with CO2 to form a putative Ni(ii) monothiopercarbonate, [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(κ2-SOCO2)] (11). The Ni(ii) monothiopercarbonate subsequently transfers a S-atom to CO to form COS and [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(κ2-CO3)] (6). Finally, the formation of 8 can be rationalized by the reaction of COS with I. Critically, the observation of complexes 4 and 5 in the reaction mixture reveals the stepwise conversion of [K(18-crown-6)][L tBuNiII(κ2-SNNO)] to 1 and then I, which represents the formal reduction of N2O by CO

Synthesis of a terminal Ce(iv) oxo complex by photolysis of a Ce(iii) nitrate complex.

Reaction of [Ce(NR2)3] (R = SiMe3) with LiNO3 in THF, in the presence of 2,2,2-cryptand, results in the formation of the Ce(iii) "ate" complex, [Li(2,2,2-cryptand)][Ce(κ2-O2NO)(NR2)3] (1) in 38% yield. Photolysis of 1 at 380 nm affords [Li(2,2,2-cryptand)][Ce(O)(NR2)3] (2), in 33% isolated yield after reaction work-up. Complex 2 is the first reported example of a Ce(iv) oxo complex where the oxo ligand is not supported by hydrogen bonding or alkali metal coordination. Also formed during photolysis are [Li(2,2,2-cryptand)]2[(μ3-O){Ce(μ-O)(NR2)2}3] (3) and [Li(2,2,2-cryptand)][Ce(OSiMe3)(NR2)3] (4). Their identities were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Complex 4 can also be prepared via reaction of [Ce(NR2)3] with LiOSiMe3 in THF, in the presence of 2,2,2-cryptand. When synthesized in this fashion, 4 can be isolated in 47% yield. To rationalize the presence of 2, 3, and 4 in the reaction mixture, we propose that photolysis of 1 first generates 2 and NO2, via homolytic cleavage of the N-O bond in its nitrate co-ligand. Complex 2 then undergoes decomposition via two separate routes: (1) ligand scrambling and oligomerization to form 3; and, (2) abstraction of a trimethylsilyl cation to form a transient Ce(iv) silyloxide, [CeIV(OSiMe3)(NR2)3], followed by 1e- reduction to form 4. Alternatively, complex 4 could form directly via ·SiMe3 abstraction by 2