HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION (HMO) AND THE REGULATION OF THE PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR (PRS)

Social housing in Northern Ireland has followed similar trends as in the United Kingdom despite the absence of direct democratic control and the substitution of one organisation for a multiplicity of local authorities. Owner occupation has increased substantially and the proportion which remains in the public sector has reduced as a result of a combination of similar policies introduced in Great Britain. Whilst much of the existing housing legislation has mirrored legislation from Great Britain, there are also many provisions that have not been introduced due to the special circumstances that exist in Northern Ireland.real estate, private rented sector, multiple occupation

The Private Rented Sectors in the North and South of Ireland: A Case Study in Convergence Analysis

The theme of this paper centres on the convergence and divergence of housing policy between two regimes inhabiting the same geographical space on the island of Ireland, as reflected in the development of the private rented sector (PRS) in both jurisdictions. Using a historical comparative analysis of key indicators, this paper aims not just to present an accurate picture of the state of policy towards the sector in both jurisdictions today, but to place this analysis within a framework which looks at the backdrop of overall housing systems. The paper postulates that while Northern Ireland and the South of Ireland are reflective of the Anglo Saxon tradition in housing, major historical differences in their pathways have brought clearly identifiable policy outcomes indicative of their differing status in comparative welfare analysis. While both jurisdictions have diverged significantly during the course of the twentieth century in the profile of policy and housing tenure mix, showing examples of path dependency at work, there is clear evidence of more recent convergence. More recent changes in housing policy in both jurisdictions away from direct social housing provision and the changing role of the private rented sector are also examined and a convergence theory is proposed.  

Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity.

Atrophy of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a key role in the pathophysiology of depression and related disorders. The ability to promote both structural and functional plasticity in the PFC has been hypothesized to underlie the fast-acting antidepressant properties of the dissociative anesthetic ketamine. Here, we report that, like ketamine, serotonergic psychedelics are capable of robustly increasing neuritogenesis and/or spinogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. These changes in neuronal structure are accompanied by increased synapse number and function, as measured by fluorescence microscopy and electrophysiology. The structural changes induced by psychedelics appear to result from stimulation of the TrkB, mTOR, and 5-HT2A signaling pathways and could possibly explain the clinical effectiveness of these compounds. Our results underscore the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and, importantly, identify several lead scaffolds for medicinal chemistry efforts focused on developing plasticity-promoting compounds as safe, effective, and fast-acting treatments for depression and related disorders

BBC Experiments in local radio broadcasting 1961-62

In the early 1960s, the BBC was given the opportunity to demonstrate that it had the skills and resources to create localized broadcasting, by organizing a series of experimental stations across the UK. Although the output was not heard publicly, the results were played to the Pilkington Committee on Broadcasting, who were deliberating about the future direction of radio and television. Using archival research, featuring contemporary BBC documents, this paper argues that these experimental stations helped senior managers at the BBC to harness technological innovation with changing attitudes in society and culture, thus enabling them to formulate a strategy that put the BBC in the leading position to launch local radio a few years later in 1967

The British Army, information management and the First World War revolution in military affairs

Information Management (IM) – the systematic ordering, processing and channelling of information within organisations – forms a critical component of modern military command and control systems. As a subject of scholarly enquiry, however, the history of military IM has been relatively poorly served. Employing new and under-utilised archival sources, this article takes the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of the First World War as its case study and assesses the extent to which its IM system contributed to the emergence of the modern battlefield in 1918. It argues that the demands of fighting a modern war resulted in a general, but not universal, improvement in the BEF’s IM techniques, which in turn laid the groundwork, albeit in embryonic form, for the IM systems of modern armies. KEY WORDS: British Army, Information Management, First World War, Revolution in Military Affairs, Adaptatio

The Increased Role of the Private Rented Sector in Catering for Low-income Groups in Northern Ireland

Although the private rented sector (PRS) in Northern Ireland is relatively small when compared with the other tenures, it performs a number of important functions in addressing housing needs. The PRS is not homogeneous and is made up of a number of sub-markets. Rugg, Rhodes and Jones (2002) have summarised a number of demand groups for private renting, including 'life-stage' users, young people renting a property before entering owner occupation, short-term emergency users, such as households experiencing relationship breakdown, older renters that have been in living in privately rented housing for some time and 'residual users', namely households on low incomes. This paper examines data from the Northern Ireland House Condition Survey, the Continuous Household Survey and interviews tenants and estate/letting agents. The paper presents evidence indicating that those living in the PRS are increasingly 'residual users', i.e. those that have traditionally been housed in the social sector and outlines the reasons for this phenomenon. The paper is based on research commissioned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that was carried out in two phases.Private rented sector, residualisation, 'settled areas', Northern Ireland,

25 Years of Devolution and a (dis)United Kingdom Homelessness Policy

This chapter explores the development of homelessness law and policy in the four nations of the United Kingdom. Chris Bevan, Regina Serpa and Paddy Gray reflect on how the different nations of the United Kingdom have responded to the homelessness problem with varying approaches and degrees of success. The chapter traces the strategies, legislation, and political action in England before turning to consider what has been achieved in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland through 25 years of devolution, in a bid to illuminate the similarities and divergencies across the United Kingdom. In so doing, the chapter reveals how devolution across the country has resulted in fascinating divergences in the approach taken across the country to homelessness policy and, ultimately, has produced what might be termed a dis-United Kingdom homelessness policy

Moving Towards Integrated Communities in Northern Ireland: New Approaches to Mixed Housing

Over recent years, residential segregation of the two main religious communities in Northern Ireland has become the focus of much government and media attention both locally and internationally. Whilst residential segregation locally ignores tenure boundaries, research has established it to be most stark within non-market housing. This segregation among social housing tenants is, in many ways, a function of tenant preference rather than a deliberate allocations policy. In 2005, Government launched a new vision for Northern Ireland in the policy document 'A Shared Future', which outlined a commitment to developing mixed housing schemes, thereby providing choice to those who wish to live within mixed communities. The aim of this initiative is to encourage a move away from polarisation, towards the integration of communities. Within this context, recent moves to promote a more integrated society through the creation of mixed housing and integrated communities are debated.Integration, sustainable communities, segregation, Northern Ireland, shared future, social housing,