Leipzig City Story

La Fabrique de la Cité, a French foundation sponsored by Vinci, funded LSE Housing and Communities to produce seven updated city reports on Leipzig and six other European cities, following our initial reports in 2007. The financial crisis, Eurozone troubles and six-year recession have changed the fortunes of these hard-hit, former industrial cities yet again. These seven stories are up-to-the-minute, grounded evidence of the capacity of cities to recreate themselves as the Phoenix. Each city story is unusual in focussing on a single city and looking in depth at how it survives and thrives, or struggles. The reports draw on the earlier work of Jörg Plöger and Astrid Winkler who wrote the original city reports published in 2007, and we owe a deep debt of gratitude to them for their outstanding research, their meticulous evidence and their direct accounts of visits to the sites. We revisited all the cities several times since 2008, and this report is based on visits to Leipzig and interviews with city stakeholders. It also draws on previous research, city reports and wider evidence. We want to thank all those we met and interviewed, the projects we spent time in, all the residents, officials and programme leaders who shared their insights. In particular we thank Isabella Kohlass-Webber, Jan Richert and Ilke Rzymann. Without their input, the reports would not reflect the dynamic reality of changing cities

Is welfare reform working? Impacts on working age tenants: a study for SW HAILO

This report presents evidence on whether the aim of moving people who are dependent on benefits into work has been achieved, and considers three important questions: Are welfare reforms encouraging tenants into work or to work more? What are the main barriers to work for out of work tenants or tenants who want to work more? Why are many social housing tenants not working

Seamless Mobile Communications for mHealth

There is a growing trend in the health domain to incorporate Smartphones and other wireless technologies to provide more efficient, cost effective, and higher quality healthcare. With newer more sophisticated mobile devices for example, Smartphones this is an escalating practice. To date the use of mobile phone technology in the healthcare domain (mHealth) has been limited to uses such as disseminating information. However, mHealth is beginning to include software and data applications based on mobile devices and technologies. This movement is largely due to the advent of newer technologies associated with Smartphones. Some Smartphones can now be considered to be intelligent sensors with sensing capabilities such as GPS location, proximity and accelerometers. This paper examines the use of such technology in providing seamless mobile communications for mHealth

Non-Pharmacological interventions designed to reduce health risks due to unhealthy eating behaviour and linked risky or excessive drinking in adults aged 18-25 years:A systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND: Excess body weight and heavy alcohol consumption are two of the greatest contributors to global disease. Alcohol use peaks in early adulthood. Alcohol consumption can also exacerbate weight gain. A high body mass index and heavy drinking are independently associated with liver disease but, in combination, they produce an intensified risk of damage, with individuals from lower socio-economic status groups disproportionately affected. METHODS: We will conduct searches in MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, ASSIA, Web of Knowledge (WoK), Scopus, CINAHL via EBSCO, LILACS, CENTRAL and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for studies that assess targeted preventative interventions of any length of time or duration of follow-up that are focused on reducing unhealthy eating behaviour and linked risky alcohol use in 18-25-year-olds. Primary outcomes will be reported changes in: (1) dietary, nutritional or energy intake and (2) alcohol consumption. We will include all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) including cluster RCTs; randomised trials; non-randomised controlled trials; interrupted time series; quasi-experimental; cohort involving concurrent or historical controls and controlled before and after studies. Database searches will be supplemented with searches of Google Scholar, hand searches of key journals and backward and forward citation searches of reference lists of identified papers. Search records will be independently screened by two researchers, with full-text copies of potentially relevant papers retrieved for in-depth review against the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality of RCTs will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Other study designs will be evaluated using the Cochrane Public Health Review Group's recommended Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Studies will be pooled by meta-analysis and/or narrative synthesis as appropriate for the nature of the data retrieved. DISCUSSION: It is anticipated that exploration of intervention effectiveness and characteristics (including theory base, behaviour change technique; modality, delivery agent(s) and training of intervention deliverers, including their professional status; and frequency/duration of exposure) will aid subsequent co-design and piloting of a future intervention to help reduce health risk and social inequalities due to excess weight gain and alcohol consumption. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42016040128

Examining Associations between Body Mass Index in 18⁻25 Year-Olds and Energy Intake from Alcohol:Findings from the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey

Evidence on the relationship between alcohol consumption and body mass index (BMI) is mixed, particularly for young adults. This study explored the relationship between energy obtained from alcoholic beverages and BMI using data for 18-25 year-olds (n = 7691) from pooled cross-sections of the 2008⁻2014 Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey. Energy obtained from alcoholic beverages (excluding mixers) on the heaviest drinking day in the past week was expressed as percentage of total recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of energy (% RDA Energy). Linear regressions were estimated of BMI on alcohol intake categories controlling for intake frequency, physical activity, longstanding illness and other covariates, with separate analyses for men and women, and by beverage type. Significant associations with BMI were observed with the 'Very High' category of alcohol intake (>75% RDA Energy) for men (p 50% to 75% RDA Energy) (p 0⁻25% RDA Energy) category. Young adults drinking the highest levels of alcohol on a single occasion were more likely to be obese than those with the lowest intake. Interventions to address internationally rising youth obesity rates should also consider reducing alcohol consumption by increasing alcohol prices, and reducing availability and marketing exposure

Non-Pharmacological Interventions to Reduce Unhealthy Eating and Risky Drinking in Young Adults Aged 18–25 Years::A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Alcohol use peaks in early adulthood and can contribute both directly and indirectly to unhealthy weight gain. This review aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of preventative targeted interventions focused on reducing unhealthy eating behavior and linked alcohol use in 18⁻25-year-olds. Twelve electronic databases were searched from inception to June 2018 for trials or experimental studies, of any duration or follow-up. Eight studies (seven with student populations) met the inclusion criteria. Pooled estimates demonstrated inconclusive evidence that receiving an intervention resulted in changes to self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption (mean change/daily servings: 0.33; 95% CI -0.22 to 0.87) and alcohol consumption (mean reduction of 0.6 units/week; CI -1.35 to 0.19). There was also little difference in the number of binge drinking episodes per week between intervention and control groups (-0.01 sessions; CI -0.07 to 0.04). This review identified only a small number of relevant studies. Importantly, included studies did not assess whether (and how) unhealthy eating behaviors and alcohol use link together. Further exploratory work is needed to inform the development of appropriate interventions, with outcome measures that have the capacity to link food and alcohol consumption, in order to establish behavior change in this population group

QoE Testbed Infrastructure and Services: Enriching the End User’s Experience

Quality of Experience (QoE) is the subjective judgment of the satisfaction an end user perceives from an application running over a given network topology and configuration. The information provided by end users regarding their QoE preferences, experience and feedback is invaluable in providing a service that meets with their mobile activity needs within various access networks. The PERIMETER project progresses the QoE thematic research area by taking end user-related QoE factors for end user-centric mobility experimentation, thus empowering them to always have a service in which their QoE is high. This paper will detail the components of the PERIMETER framework and the user centric scenario based process adopted to implement and develop such a framework. This paper provides an insight into the federated testbed infrastructure, testing methodology and tools, operating system and applications used in the project, thus demonstrating PERIMETER’s innovative advances within the QoE end user domain

Nectar chemistry modulates the impact of an invasive plant on native pollinators

1. Invasive species are considered a main driver of pollinator declines, yet the direct effects of invasive alien plants on pollinators are poorly understood. 2. Abundant, invasive plant species can provide a copious nectar resource for native pollinators. However, the nectar of some plants contains secondary compounds, usually associated with defence against herbivores. The impacts of these compounds on pollinators are often unknown. 3. We compared how consumption of grayanotoxin I and III, natural secondary compounds in the nectar of invasive Rhododendron ponticum L., affected three native bee species: a honeybee, (Apis mellifera L.), a solitary mining bee (Andrena carantonica, Pérez) and a bumblebee, (Bombus terrestris, L.). 4. Survival of the solitary bee and the bumblebee species was not affected by either grayanotoxin, but honeybees were ∼20× more likely to die when fed solutions containing grayanotoxin I. Furthermore, solitary bees were deterred from feeding and exhibited malaise behaviours indicative of sublethal toxicity in response to consumption of grayanotoxin I. In contrast, grayanotoxins did not affect bumblebee survival or behaviour, even when bees were subjected to multiple stressors (parasite infection or food stress). 5. Our experiments suggest that while R. ponticum provides abundant floral nectar, it is only available as a food resource to pollinators that tolerate grayanotoxins. Pollinators whose health is negatively affected by grayanotoxins may experience negative impacts from R. ponticum invasion directly (if they consume R. ponticum nectar) or indirectly (if native floral resources are replaced by R. ponticum). 6. Our study makes a novel comparison of the effects of a natural nectar secondary compound on three pollinator species and clearly demonstrates drastic variation in the responses of different key pollinator taxa to a nectar toxin. Our findings are thus in congruence with literature demonstrating the varying effects of invasive plant chemistry on native foliar herbivores, and our work demonstrates that nectar chemistry should be taken into account when determining the impacts of plant invasion for native pollinators

PERIMETER: A Quality of Experience Framework

Although Quality of Experience (QoE) is perceived as a subjective measure of a user’s experience, it is the only measure that actually counts to a user of a service. For the success of the Future Internet, it is essential to identify, quantify and ultimately improve the perception of QoE for a user, in a given situation. PERIMETER pushes the boundaries to improve a user’s experience by identifying a more user-centric network selection based on QoE preferences, high level rules and policies. With the fundamental focus on the user’s preferences, PERIMETER will support generic QoE definition, QoE signalling, and QoE based content adaptation. This paper provides an insight into PERIMETER’s QoE model and management system which are responsible for the definition, gathering, description and management of QoE-related parameters, indicators and enablers. This paper will demonstrate how PERIMETER will proceed beyond the state of the art in the QoE thematic research area and contribute to research of the Future Internet