From stormy seas to the doldrums: The challenges of navigating towards an ecologically coherent marine protected area network through England's Marine Conservation Zone process

There is an on-going process to establish Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in England, to form part of a coherent and representative network of marine protected areas under national and EU legislation. From 2009 to 2011, the MCZ process included strong participatory elements. Four regional multi-sector stakeholder groups developed MCZ recommendations collaboratively, in line with ecological guidance provided by the Government's nature conservation advisers. This guidance was based on Government policy principles, including that MCZs should be designated based on 'best available evidence'. This paper analyses the multi-dimensional conflicts that emerged within the stakeholder group in south-west England, which were magnified by uncertainty about future MCZ management. In September 2011, after working through these conflicts through trade-offs and negotiations, the stakeholder groups jointly recommended 127 MCZs to Government. The process subsequently shifted to a top-down approach, with further stakeholder engagement limited to bilateral consultation. There was a concurrent shift in policy, from a broad-scale network-level focus towards single-feature conservation. A lengthy series of evidence reviews concluded that the existing evidence at the time was insufficient to progress with the designation of most sites, marking a clear departure from the policy principle of proceeding with the designation of a representative network based on 'best available evidence', and effectively undermining the work carried out by stakeholder groups. Though MCZ designation was originally timetabled for 2012, in November 2013 just 27 of the recommended 127 MCZs were designated in a first tranche. At the time, no clear timetable was in place for subsequent tranches

Inspiratory muscle training enhances pulmonary O2 uptake kinetics and high-intensity exercise tolerance in humans

Fatigue of the respiratory muscles during intense exercise might compromise leg blood flow, thereby constraining oxygen uptake (VO2) and limiting exercise tolerance. We tested the hypothesis that inspiratory muscle training (IMT) would reduce inspiratory muscle fatigue, speed VO2 kinetics and enhance exercise tolerance. Sixteen recreationally active subjects (mean ± SD, age 22 ± 4 yr) were randomly assigned to receive 4 wk of either pressure threshold IMT [30 breaths twice daily at ~50% of maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP)] or sham treatment (60 breaths once daily at ~15% of MIP). The subjects completed moderate-, severe- and maximal-intensity "step" exercise transitions on a cycle ergometer before (Pre) and after (Post) the 4-wk intervention period for determination of VO2 kinetics and exercise tolerance. There were no significant changes in the physiological variables of interest after Sham. After IMT, baseline MIP was significantly increased (Pre vs. Post: 155 ± 22 vs. 181 ± 21 cmH2O; P < 0.001), and the degree of inspiratory muscle fatigue was reduced after severe- and maximal-intensity exercise. During severe exercise, the VO2 slow component was reduced (Pre vs. Post: 0.60 ± 0.20 vs. 0.53 ± 0.24 l/min; P < 0.05) and exercise tolerance was enhanced (Pre vs. Post: 765 ± 249 vs. 1,061 ± 304 s; P < 0.01). Similarly, during maximal exercise, the VO2 slow component was reduced (Pre vs. Post: 0.28 ± 0.14 vs. 0.18 ± 0.07 l/min; P < 0.05) and exercise tolerance was enhanced (Pre vs. Post: 177 ± 24 vs. 208 ± 37 s; P < 0.01). Four weeks of IMT, which reduced inspiratory muscle fatigue, resulted in a reduced VO2 slow-component amplitude and an improved exercise tolerance during severe- and maximal-intensity exercise. The results indicate that the enhanced exercise tolerance observed after IMT might be related, at least in part, to improved VO2 dynamics, presumably as a consequence of increased blood flow to the exercising limbs

‘Granny thinking what she is going to write in her book’: religion, politics and the Pontefract by-election of 1872 in Josephine Butler’s Personal Reminiscences of a Great Crusade (1896)

Josephine Butler’s 'Personal Reminiscences of a Great Crusade' (1896) has long been considered as one of the crucial pieces of evidence for the campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts. Yet few scholars have examined this text to consider what Butler’s only explicit autobiographical publication tells us about how she represented and sought to represent her role in the repeal movement. Scholars have instead preferred to explore how Butler revealed the ‘auto/biographical I’ in the biographies of her father, sister and husband, as well as in her hagiographical writings. This article argues that Personal Reminiscences enabled Butler to reinforce a religiously informed identity. It does so by unpacking her account of the Pontefract by-election of 1872. Both biographers and historians have been drawn to her account of the by-election, especially her description of the terrifying events in the hayloft

'I still remain one of the old Settlement boys': Cross-class Friendship in the First World War Letters of Cardiff University Settlement Lads

This article examines the letters sent from former members of Cardiff University Settlement Lads' Club to two settlement workers, Amy and Edward Lewis, during the First World War. It argues that affective relationships developed within the settlement house prior to the war were subsequently utilised by working-class soldiers in their imaginings of home and community. The letters are used not only to demonstrate the interpersonal relationships that developed between settlement workers and settlement attendees, but also more broadly how the university settlement movement's concept of cross-class friendship worked in practice

'Oxford House Heads and their Performance of Religious Faith in East London, 1884-1900'

This article considers how lecturing in Victoria Park in the East End of London allowed three early heads of the university settlement Oxford House to engage local communities in a discussion about the place of religion in the modern world. It demonstrates how park lecturing enabled James Adderley, Hebert Hensley Henson and Arthur Winnington-Ingram, all of whom also held positions in the Church of England, to perform and test out their religious identities. Open-air lecturing was a performance of religious faith for these settlement leaders. It allowed them to move beyond the institutional spaces of the church and the settlement house in order to mediate their faith in the context of open discussion and debate about religion and modern life. The narratives they constructed in and about their park sermons reveal a good deal about how these early settlement leaders imagined themselves as well as their relationship with the working-class men they hoped to reach through settlement work. A vivid picture of Victorian religious and philanthropic life emerges in their accounts of lecturing in Victoria Park

Governance Analysis of St Anne Marine National Park, Seychelles

The aim of this paper is to explore the governance effectiveness of St Anne Marine National Park, Seychelles. By collecting qualitative data through interviews and ethnographic observations from different constituencies in May and June 2018, the Marine Protected Area Governance (MPAG) analysis framework was applied. This case study revealed that the site is governed by a parastatal organisation (SNPA) and its Board through a largely ineffective top-down, government-led approach. The primary threats to the success of the park that fall within the purview of MPA (marine protected area) governance, are poaching, coastal development and unsustainable tourism, with a clear lack of state capacity, political will and capacity for enforcement as the key drivers undermining equitable and effective governance. Additionally, the study revealed a lack of community involvement in decision-making processes, resulting in a lack of sufficient participation and knowledge incentives, which reflects the need for the inclusion of more bottom-up governance approaches. This study contributes to the broader conceptual framework by supporting the understanding that a combination of governance approaches are needed to achieve MPA objectives and resilience. The governance structure coupled with the identified conflicts and many additional driving forces and constraints discussed throughout, are obstructing the achievement of strategic MPA objectives and severely undermining effectiveness. Suggestions for improvement are therefore explored as significant governance modifications are clearly needed. Since the completion of this research, significant advances have been made to the governance of SAMNP and where relevant these have been noted briefly throughout the paper

Marine spatial planning in reality: introduction to case studies and discussion of findings

This paper explores the realities of marine spatial planning (MSP'ing), drawing on 12 case studies around Europe, employing a structured qualitative empirical approach. The findings indicate that (1) MSP'ing is often focused on achieving specific sectoral objectives, related to nationally important strategic priorities, and might better be termed 'strategic sectoral planning'. (2) MSP'ing processes tend to be complex, fragmented and emergent on an ad hoc basis, rather than cyclical, adaptive and prescribed on an a priori basis. (3) Top-down processes tend to dominate, more participative platforms tending to be 'disconnected by design' from executive decision-making. (4) Blue growth is the dominant overall priority, often aligned with strategic sectoral priorities, despite growing indications that the target for Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020 is unlikely to be met. This is consistent with growing concerns about the tensions between the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Directive Establishing a Framework for Maritime Spatial Planning. It is concluded that the realities of how MSP'ing is working contrast with widely recognised concepts and ideals as to how MSP'ing should work, as integrated-use MSP'ing based on political expedience and blue growth priorities is diverging from and potentially competing with ecosystem-based MSP'ing, including marine protected area networks, based on GES priorities. It is argued that a more empirical approach should be taken to MSP'ing research, whereby conceptual approaches which integrate sustainable blue growth and GES co-evolve with marine spatial planning practices through critical analyses of whether the realities of MSP'ing are consistent with these concepts

Managing to care, the emotional dimensions of formative assessment: sustainability of teacher learner relationships in four case studies

This study is concerned with how educators, and their students, in different adult teaching and learning environments, engage in formative assessment and how development of capacities to perform a more holistic formative pedagogy might enhance educational processes potentially weakened by exclusive focus on rational processes alone. This thesis suggests that formative assessment could be enriched by affective approaches such as developing the use-of-self, emotional intelligence and relational skills. The central argument proposes that lecturers in Higher Education, expected to behave in emotionally neutral, predominantly rational, ways experience stressful paradoxical demands that unintentionally generate suboptimal environments for take up of feedback. The emergent concept of formative pedagogy which promotes deliberate engagement with emotions, feelings and mood to “refine principles of effective formative assessment, identify gaps and gather further evidence about the potential of formative assessment and feedback to support self-regulation” (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick 2006:215) is explored as one means of enhancing sustainable assessment for learning. It aims to create and maintain reciprocal, collaborative tutor-learner relationships which generate trust that feedback will enhance short term achievements and develop learner capacities for self-regulation. A significant factor likely to enhance conditions for sustainable formative assessment is the promotion of teacher-learner relationships as caring collaborative spaces where shared commitment to learning outcomes and processes are authentic rather than emotionally neutral. Four case studies, utilising mixed methodologies of observation, survey and interview generate broad descriptors of manifestations and expressions of reciprocal caring between teachers and learners in General Practice; 5Rhythms dance; Shaolin Kungfu and undergraduate medical lectures. Comparison between them illuminates potential staff-development needs and strategies for enabling medical (or other professional) educators and students to maximise effective use-of-self. The findings endorse the introduction of balanced epistemologies into ‘spiral developmental curricula’ and the need for universities and medical communities of practice to adapt away from ‘emotionally silent orthodoxies’. Concluding chapters suggest staff development programmes could “filch” (Newman 2006) curriculum ideas for educating educators in holistic formative pedagogies and promoting self-regulatory learners, most likely to make use of feedback

Alternative bacteriophage life cycles: the carrier state of Campylobacter jejuni

Members of the genus Campylobacter are frequently responsible for human enteric disease, often through consumption of contaminated poultry products. Bacteriophages are viruses that have the potential to control pathogenic bacteria, but understanding their complex life cycles is key to their successful exploitation. Treatment of Campylobacter jejuni biofilms with bacteriophages led to the discovery that phages had established a relationship with their hosts typical of the carrier state life cycle (CSLC), where bacteria and bacteriophages remain associated in equilibrium. Significant phenotypic changes include improved aerotolerance under nutrient-limited conditions that would confer an advantage to survive in extra-intestinal environments, but a lack in motility eliminated their ability to colonize chickens. Under these circumstances, phages can remain associated with a compatible host and continue to produce free virions to prospect for new hosts. Moreover, we demonstrate that CSLC host bacteria can act as expendable vehicles for the delivery of bacteriophages to new host bacteria within pre-colonized chickens. The CSLC represents an important phase in the ecology of Campylobacter bacteriophage

\u27They say\u27: medical students\u27 perceptions of General Practice, experiences informing these perceptions, and their impact on career intention-a qualitative study among medical students in England

\ua9 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.OBJECTIVES: The number of UK graduates choosing General Practice training remains significantly lower than the current numbers required to meet the demands of the service. This work aims to explore medical students\u27 perceptions of General Practice, experiences which lead to the development of these perceptions, and the ultimate impact of these on career intention. DESIGN: This mixed-methods, qualitative study used focus groups, semistructured interviews, longitudinal audio diary data and debrief interviews to explore and capture the experiences and perceptions of students in their first and penultimate years of university. SETTING: Three English medical schools. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty students were recruited to focus groups from first and fourth/fifth year of study. All students in these years of study were invited to attend. Six students were recruited into the longitudinal diary study to further explore their experiences. RESULTS: This work identified that external factors, internal driving force and the \u27they say\u27 phenomenon were all influential on the development of perceptions and ultimately career intention. External factors may be split into human or non-human influences, for example, aspirational/inspirational seniors, family, peers (human), placements and \u27the push\u27 of GP promotion (non-human). Driving force refers to internal factors, to which the student compares their experiences in an ongoing process of reflection, to understand if they feel General Practice is a career they wish to pursue. The \u27they say\u27 phenomenon refers to a passive and pervasive perception, without a known source, whereby usually negative perceptions circulate around the undergraduate community. CONCLUSION: Future strategies to recruit graduates to General Practice need to consider factors at an undergraduate level. Positive placement experiences should be maximised, while avoiding overtly \u27pushing\u27 GP onto students