Meaningful transitions: how education shapes young working class individuals’ perceptions of work in austerity Scotland

The study detailed in the thesis Meaningful Transitions: How education shapes young working class individuals’ perceptions of work in austerity Scotland critically explores education to work transitions among young working class individuals in the city of Glasgow during the period of relative economic decline that followed the 2008 financial crisis. It seeks to understand how those ending their education and entering the labour market at 16/17 years old experience work and how far those experiences may have implications for formal education and the way we shape youth transitions. By focusing on the group most likely to experience sustained unemployment it is hoped a broad understanding of how education constructs expectations of work can be identified. The following sociological study analyses whether the contemporary definition of work passed on to young people via education serves to reinforce their social position, thereby contributing to their relative failure to combat austerity and unwillingness to consider alternative work forms. By situating the research in the city of Glasgow a proposal for identifying broader trends across the UK and beyond within similar post-industrial working class environments is presented. The thesis specifically considers perceptions of work among final year secondary school pupils in an attempt to highlight not only how the reality of austerity is affecting school leavers’ aspirations but how it alters the way in which they perceive what work is. The ongoing economic difficulties encountered in Scotland as a result of austerity has seen the country suffer a marked decline in youth employment during and after the financial crisis of 2008 with 26.4% of 16-19 year olds experiencing unemployment in 2010/11, an increase from 17.9% in 2007/8 (Anderson & Dowling, 2012). The reality that arises from the significant fiscal cuts associated with austerity is not only an economic consideration but a fundamental question of identity. The important role employment plays in shaping our identity within a community cannot be understated, or as Hughes (1975:209) puts it ‘there is something irrevocable about a choice of occupation’. Included within the social and economic capital we derive from our occupations are a number of other forms of capital which stem from culture to education (Stevenson, 2003). It is the hypothetical contention of the study that young people in Glasgow since the onset of the 2008 financial crisis are considerably deprived of many essential forms of capital and as such will be further disadvantaged going into an adulthood which is equally insecure. In seeking to understand what constitutes work for those rapidly approaching the reality of having to find their first full time job arguments will be made to reconsider the theoretical foundations upon which we view youth transitions and reform careers advice post adolescence to further reflect the needs of those least likely to benefit from continued education. On a theoretical level, the research attempts to reconceptualise the ideas of André Gorz (1999) in relation to the new economic climate born out of the global financial crisis and seeks to understand them in terms of youth and young adulthood within Scotland and the wider UK. More generally, the research endeavours to inform policy debates on class, education and social mobility, specifically as a critique of the social consequences of fiscal austerity in communities already suffering from a sustained lack of investment. The analysis of young people’s transitional narratives after one year in the labour market presented herein will in turn inform a comprehensive understanding of how education prepares such individuals for the world of work. Drawing on 230 detailed survey questionnaires and 30 in depth interviews with working class participants the following sociological study constitutes a unique research project based on a mixed-method design complemented by secondary sources leading to the following conclusions. There was little to suggest in either of the data collection stages that the young people who took part in this study have been exposed to or are cognisant of alternative work forms beyond the classic liberal model of employment and social security. Further, it would seem that young people opting for transitions directly from school to work actively embrace the precarious nature of this process, finding some element of pride in having opted for an ostensibly more difficult path. Many participants were largely hostile to narratives of welfare or social security and when radical alternatives such as Universal Basic Income were discussed there was a common tendency expressed to be dismissive of it. Further, there was a generally high prevalence of socially conservative attitudes regarding place, community, and identity evidenced throughout. Participants who had left education to pursue work immediately after school had by and large struggled in their year in the labour market with most reporting transitions fraught with difficulty and precarity framed by individualisation and alienation. Allied to this was a strong perception that this was a generation that had received a difficult hand in the economy, with accounts of resentment clear presenting evidence that the period of economic austerity from 2008 onwards has had a marked effect on how young people think about work

A hedonic analysis of the value of parks and green spaces in the Dublin area

We use a hedonic house price model to estimate the value of green spaces and parks to homeowners in the Dublin area. Using a dataset of house sales between 2001 and 2006 and combining it with available data on the location of green spaces in Dublin it is possible to assess the different values assigned to green areas by homeowners. We find that the value of green space depends first of all on how far from the property it is located. We also find a difference in the values assigned to open access parks and green spaces. For every 10% increase in the share of green space and park area near a house, its average price increases by 7% to 9%. We also attempted to identify different individual parks and rank them according to their value, however due to spatial multicollinearity the results were mixed

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice

Effect of exposing rams to a female stimulus before semen collection on ram libido and semen quality

Rams with strong libido and desirable semen characteristics can provide more insemination doses per ejaculate and produce more progeny, improving population genetic linkage to improve the accuracy of EBV. The objective of this study was to determine if teasing rams, either by sight and smell alone (Exp. 1), or physical contact (Exp. 2), could improve libido and semen quality of rams. In Exp. 1, there were 3 treatments in which rams were exposed to the sight and smell of the ewe for 1 h: control treatment (n = 5) in which rams were exposed to a ewe not in estrus; non-novel treatment (n = 6) in which rams were exposed to a ewe in estrus and the same ewe was used for semen collection; and novel treatment (n = 6) in which rams were exposed to a ewe in estrus and a different ewe in estrus was used for semen collection. In Exp. 2, rams were individually given full access to a ewe, which had a cotton apron fi tted to cover her vulva, for 15 min. The 3 treatments in Exp. 2 were: control treatment (n = 5) in which rams were placed in a pen with a ewe not in estrus; a nonnovel treatment (n = 5) in which rams were placed in a pen with a ewe in estrus and the same ewe was used for semen collection; novel treatment (n = 6) in which rams were placed in a pen with a ewe in estrus and a different ewe in estrus was used for semen collection. Experiment 1 was repeated for 5 consecutive days and Exp. 2 was repeated for 4 consecutive days. Data on reaction time, number of mounts, semen volume, semen concentration, sperm wave motion, and progressive linear motion (Exp. 1 only) were collected and analyzed as a randomized complete block design, where rams were initially blocked for breed and age. In Exp. 1, there was an effect of day (P < 0.05) and a treatment × day interaction (P < 0.05) on semen volume, whereas there was also an effect of treatment (P < 0.05) and day (P < 0.01) on semen concentration, which was most evident on d 1. In Exp. 2, there was an effect of treatment on reaction time (P < 0.05) and semen volume (P = 0.08), which was most evident on d 1. This study demonstrates an acute effect on d 1 on semen concentration when rams were exposed to the sight and smell of a ewe in estrus. Alternatively, when rams were stimulated with physical contact of a ewe in estrus, an acute increase in semen volume was evident on d 1. These effects were not evident on subsequent days and thus the overall benefi ts on ram libido and semen quality of exposing rams to ewes in estrus are minimal

A hedonic analysis of the value of rail transport in the Greater Dublin area

We use a hedonic house price model to estimate the value of transport networks to homeowners in the Dublin area. Using a data set of house sales and data on rail lines in Dublin, we assess the values assigned to different transport links by homeowners. We find that the value attributed to transport depends on its distance from a property and is affected by the availability of alternative transport options. There are differences in the values assigned to recently constructed tramlines compared to the traditional rapid transit train stations. The study also takes into account house characteristics and other environmental amenities