Men and boys selling sex in the Bradford district

This report provides a summary of key findings from a study commissioned by Yorkshire MESMAC exploring the experiences and needs of men and boys who are involved in selling sex in the Bradford district. This study consisted of three related projects outlined below. Project A: Survey of Agencies in the Bradford Area The first author conducted an interviewbased survey of 31 representatives from 21 local statutory and voluntary sector agencies exploring their perceptions of the issue of men and boys involved in selling sex, and considering ways in which local services could best respond to their needs. Responses indicated that: ● 78% of agency representatives believed that young men selling sex in the Bradford area was an issue that needed to be addressed. ● 52% of agency representatives had direct evidence of young men who were involved in selling sex in the Bradford area. ● 87% felt that action should be taken to address the issue of young men involved in selling sex in the Bradford area. Suggestions offered are outlined on page 9. Project B: Local Awareness of Men Selling Sex Thirty-seven men under the age of 40 completed a short questionnaire (Appendix 2) exploring their levels of awareness and possible involvement in selling/purchasing sexual services. Results indicated that: ● Adverts for men selling sex had been observed by gay/bisexual and heterosexual men in the Bradford district. ● One-third of gay/bisexual men and one young heterosexual man had been approached by a man and offered sex for money on more than one occasion. ● 10% of the gay/bisexual men surveyed reported having sold sex. Executive Summary ● Reasons for offering sexual services or receiving payment for sex included being pressurized to perform in pornographic videos or pictures, or receiving shelter/accommodation for the night. Project C: Men Selling Sex Seven men who sell or have sold sex in the Bradford area were interviewed by the first author using a structured interview schedule (see Appendix 3). Responses suggested that: ● Sex with young men under the age of 16 is sought by men in the Bradford area. ● Men who sell sex on the streets have less control over the types of sex for which payment is offered than those who are house/flat/hotel-based. ● Men who sell sex on the streets face much more violence than those who sell sex from a house/flat/hotel. ● Selling sex on the streets often follows a chance encounter with an exploitative older man during teenage years. ● Selling sex from a house/flat tends to be a deliberate decision by older men. Recommendations ● Provision of a local support service responding to the needs of men and boys who are involved in selling sex. ● Commission further research exploring the issues highlighted in the report

Financial Market Integration of South Asian Countries: Panel data Analysis

According to Frankel (1992) in order to find financial integration from Feldstein Horoika (FH, 1980) model, the real interest parity must hold. This paper estimates the degree of financial market integration of South Asian countries i.e. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal with both the techniques. The study finds some degree of integration with FH model has which increased after 1990s, post liberalization period. Furthermore, Panel Unit Root techniques i.e. LLC, IPS and Hadri has been used to estimate the real interest rate differentials (RIDs) of South Asian countries are found to be stationary with USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Sweden, Netherland, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, China and Japan. The empirical evidence of integration with both the techniques in my study is unique in the literature. Even though, the RIDS technique provides strong evidence of integration, correlation between savings and investment is still significant.Financial Integration, interest rate parity, savings investment correlation, South Asian economy

Are domestic banks' pass through higher than foreign banks? Empirical evidence from Pakistan

This study contributes to the literature by estimating Interest Rate Pass Through (IRPT) using Pakistani aggregate banks’ lending and deposit rate data. Lending and deposit rates are estimated to be sluggish in terms of their response to a change in monetary policy rate. There is also evidence of asymmetry in the pass through of four types of banks (i.e., privatized, nationalized, foreign and specialized). Overall, the domestic banks’ pass through is estimated to be higher than that of foreign bank. Although the IRPT is estimated to be incomplete, the degree of lending rate pass- through is not very low. This study provides evidence of an increase in the adjustment speed when the lending rate is below equilibrium after January 2005. However, there was no significant change in the pass through after January 2005 which coincided with the constant increase in the Treasury bill rate by the State Bank of Pakistan.Monetary policy, Treasury Bill rate, pass thropugh

Children of same-sex couples in the United Kingdom

To further develop an understanding of psychological and social functioning of children raised by lesbian couples, the current investigation compared 18 students ages 12 through 16 raised in families led by female same-sex couples who were identified from a large school-based survey with 18 matched students raised by opposite-sex couples, and the general student sample. Comparisons were made on factors including victimization, social support, and psychological functioning. Results indicated that those students raised by female same-sex couples did not differ significantly from those raised by opposite-sex couples, or the general student sample in terms of reports of victimization, psychological functioning, experience of common adolescent concerns, or prospective use of support outlets provided by family and peers. However, children of same-sex couples reported significantly less likelihood of using school-based support than children of opposite-sex couples, or the general student sample. Findings indicate the need for school administrators, teachers, and psychologists to be knowledgeable of and provide appropriate support and resources for these children. Additional implications for research and application are discussed

Observing bullying at school: The mental health implications of witness status

This study explores the impact of bullying on the mental health of students who witness it. A representative sample of 2,002 students aged 12 to 16 years attending 14 schools in the United Kingdom were surveyed using a questionnaire that included measures of bullying at school, substance abuse, and mental health risk. The results suggest that observing bullying at school predicted risks to mental health over and above that predicted for those students who were directly involved in bullying behavior as either a perpetrator or a victim. Observing others was also found to predict higher risk irrespective of whether students were or were not victims themselves. The results are discussed with reference to past research on bystander and witness behavior

Estimating the risk of adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women undergoing non-obstetric surgery using routinely collected NHS data: an observational study

Background: Previous research suggests that non-obstetric surgery is carried out in 1 – 2% of all pregnancies. However, there is limited evidence quantifying the associated risks. Furthermore, of the evidence available, none relates directly to outcomes in the UK, and there are no current NHS guidelines regarding non-obstetric surgery in pregnant women. Objectives: To estimate the risk of adverse birth outcomes of pregnancies in which non-obstetric surgery was or was not carried out. To further analyse common procedure groups. Data Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) maternity data collected between 2002 – 3 and 2011 – 12. Main outcomes: Spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery, maternal death, caesarean delivery, long inpatient stay, stillbirth and low birthweight. Methods: We utilised HES, an administrative database that includes records of all patient admissions and day cases in all English NHS hospitals. We analysed HES maternity data collected between 2002 – 3 and 2011 – 12, and identified pregnancies in which non-obstetric surgery was carried out. We used logistic regression models to determine the adjusted relative risk and attributable risk of non-obstetric surgical procedures for adverse birth outcomes and the number needed to harm. Results: We identified 6,486,280 pregnancies, in 47,628 of which non-obstetric surgery was carried out. In comparison with pregnancies in which surgery was not carried out, we found that non-obstetric surgery was associated with a higher risk of adverse birth outcomes, although the attributable risk was generally low. We estimated that for every 287 pregnancies in which a surgical operation was carried out there was one additional stillbirth; for every 31 operations there was one additional preterm delivery; for every 25 operations there was one additional caesarean section; for every 50 operations there was one additional long inpatient stay; and for every 39 operations there was one additional low-birthweight baby. Limitations: We have no means of disentangling the effect of the surgery from the effect of the underlying condition itself. Many spontaneous abortions will not be associated with a hospital admission and, therefore, will not be included in our analysis. A spontaneous abortion may be more likely to be reported if it occurs during the same hospital admission as the procedure, and this could account for the associated increased risk with surgery during pregnancy. There are missing values of key data items to determine parity, gestational age, birthweight and stillbirth. Conclusions: This is the first study to report the risk of adverse birth outcomes following non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy across NHS hospitals in England. We have no means of disentangling the effect of the surgery from the effect of the underlying condition itself. Our observational study can never attribute a causal relationship between surgery and adverse birth outcomes, and we were unable to determine the risk of not undergoing surgery where surgery was clinically indicated. We have some reservations over associations of risk factors with spontaneous abortion because of potential ascertainment bias. However, we believe that our findings and, in particular, the numbers needed to harm improve on previous research, utilise a more recent and larger data set based on UK practices, and are useful reference points for any discussion of risk with prospective patients. The risk of adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women undergoing non-obstetric surgery is relatively low, confirming that surgical procedures during pregnancy are generally safe. Future work: Further evaluation of the association of non-obstetric surgery and spontaneous abortion. Evaluation of the impact of non-obstetric surgery on the newborn (e.g. neonatal intensive care unit admission, prolonged length of neonatal stay, neonatal death). Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme

Looking for the minimum efficiency of fibrous air filters during their service life

Electret fibrous filter media achieve high efficiencies while maintaining low air flow resistance by incorporating electrostatic charges on their fibers. However, captured ultrafine particles reduce electrostatic effects. Existing test methods specify preconditioning to detect the minimum efficiency by eliminating electrostatic effects. ASHRAE 52.2 exposes media to nanoparticle KCl aerosols. ISO/TS21220 and EN779 immerse media in isopropyl alcohol (IPA). These approaches have some problems: - Nanoparticle generation is fairly complicated and needs to be kept under control; - The structure of some media may be changed by liquid immersion; - Soaking full scale air filters requires large amounts of IPA. A new procedure, exposure to IPA vapor, has been shown to be effective. We summarize these studies and ISO/TC142 activities related to the

A submillimeter interference spectrometer - Characteristics, performance and measurements

Performance characteristics of interference spectrometer using submillimeter wave