Social cohesion and the notion of 'suspect communities': A study of the experiences and impacts of being 'suspect' for Irish communities and Muslim communities in Britain

In this article, we consider how the practice of conceiving of groups within civil society as 'communities' meshes with conceptualisations of certain populations as 'suspect' and consider some of the impacts and consequences of this for particular populations and for social cohesion. We examine how Irish and Muslim people in Britain have become aware of and have experienced themselves to be members of 'suspect communities' in relation to political violence and counterterrorism policies from 1974 to 2007 and investigate the impacts of these experiences on their everyday lives. The study focuses on two eras of political violence. The first coincides with the Irish Republican Army's (IRA) bombing campaigns in England between 1973 and 1996, when the perpetrators were perceived as 'Irish terrorists'; and the second since 2001, when, in Britain and elsewhere, the main threat of political violence has been portrayed as stemming from people who are assumed to be motivated by extreme interpretations of Islam and are often labelled as 'Islamic terrorists'. We outline why the concept of 'suspect communities' continues to be analytically useful for examining: the impact of 'bounded communities' on community cohesion policies; the development of traumatogenic environments and their ramifications; and for examining how lessons might be learnt from one era of political violence to another, especially as regards the negative impacts of practices of suspectification on Irish communities and Muslim communities. The research methods included discussion groups involving Irish and Muslim people. These demonstrated that with the removal of discourses of suspicion the common ground of Britain's urban multiculture was a sufficient basis for sympathetic exchanges. © 2012 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

A flea-induced pre-hatching maternal effect modulates tick feeding behaviour on great tit nestlings

1. A host's defence reaction against one parasite species can modulate the habitat quality for other parasites in two ways: it can provide cross-resistance against closely related species due to antigenic similarity, or it can reduce resistance to other cohabiting species, since the mounting of multiple defence reactions is more costly. 2. Here we test whether two completely unrelated parasite species can influence each other across host generations, that is, whether a hen flea-induced maternal effect known to protect great tit (Parus major) nestlings against flea infestations will also alter tick (Ixodes ricinus) feeding behaviour on nestlings. 3. We infested experimental great tit nests with hen fleas (Ceratophyllus gallinae) prior to egg-laying to induce the maternal effect, while all parasites were removed in control nests. Nestlings from the two types of nests were then cross-fostered into flea-free foster nests to produce broods that contained both, nestlings with and without the flea-induced maternal effect. Five days after hatching, we put five larval ticks on each nestling and assessed tick feeding behaviour. 4. We found that ticks feeding on nestlings with the flea-induced maternal effect detached significantly earlier than ticks feeding on controls. The result is compatible with the hypothesis of a trans-generational parasite–parasite interaction, that is, it suggests that the flea-induced maternal effect alters tick feeding behaviour and that it may protect nestlings against tick-borne diseases by reducing tick attachment times. In addition, we found that more ticks attached on male than on female nestlings, suggesting that males are more susceptible to parasites than females as shown in other vertebrates

Genotype-phenotype correlations of low-frequency variants in the complement system in renal disease and age-related macular degeneration

Contains fulltext : 195449.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access

Laboratórios de análises e patologia clínica em Belo Horizonte, MG (Brasil): classificação quanto ao atendimento e exames realizados Clinical pathology laboratories in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais: classification according to service and tests carried out

Foi efetuada uma classificação, quanto ao atendimento e exames realizados, dos laboratórios de análises e patologia clínica operando na região metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, MG (Brasil), em 1978. Foram comparadas as 3 categorias de laboratórios (particulares, institucionais e hospitalares), segundo tipos de exames realizados, clientela atendida e pessoal técnico responsável pelos laboratórios. Com base nos resultados obtidos na análise, foi composto um "perfil" típico para cada categoria de laboratório estudado.<br>An assessment of the Clinical Pathology Laboratories in Belo Horizonte, MG, was carried out in 1978, and the 3 categories identified (Private, Institutional and Hospital) were compared in relation to the types of exams performed, to the clientele and to the Laboratories' personnel. Based on the results obtained, a typical "profile" for each category studied was drawn up