Book review: crisis and sustainability: the delusion of free markets by Alessandro Vercelli

In Crisis and Sustainability: The Delusion of Free Markets, Alessandro Vercelli argues that the concepts of freedom which underpin neoliberal economics are at odds with those required for a sustainable future. The book offers a thorough overview of neoliberal economic history but, in paying only scant attention to the politics of sustainability, Chris Shaw finds this something of a missed opportunity for advancing our understanding of the already well-researched relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation

An Analysis of Lithic Materials and Morphology from the Late Maritime Woodland and Protohistoric Periods at the Devil’s Head site in the Maine Quoddy Region

Archaeologists have reached different conclusions about hunter-gatherer settlement-subsistence strategies during the Maritime Woodland period (3150-550BP) in Maine and New Brunswick’s Quoddy Region. These debates hinge on questions of how seasonal migration, resource exploitation, and trading relationships evolved both spatially and temporally during this period. The subsequent Protohistoric period is little known archaeologically. The Devil’s Head site in Calais, Maine, is germane to this discussion because it contains three spatially discrete and structurally distinct areas with radiocarbon dates spanning from the Late Maritime Woodland (1350-550BP) to the Protohistoric period (550-350BP). This provides opportunities for both inter-site comparisons with Maritime Woodland artifact assemblages elsewhere, as well as intra-site diachronic comparisons between dated features. The lithic assemblage from the 2014 excavations at Devil’s Head consists of 45 formal tools and 3274 pieces of debitage among three features. Using simplified regional petrographic seriation schemes, the artifacts were sorted by material type with the purpose of distinguishing between materials obtainable from local outcrops and materials only obtainable outside the Quoddy Region—mostly red and yellow cherts. The proportions of these materials by weight and flake count, as well as the proportions and morphologies of formal tools in each feature, serve as a proxy for hunter-gatherer settlement or interaction strategies. Tool morphology is also reported and compared. These results are useful in that they both establish a baseline of Late Maritime Woodland to Protohistoric period site structure and composition in the Quoddy Region, and contribute to broader questions of regional change

Growing green?: co-creating an evidence-based model of SME engagement

Topic: This paper reports on our experiences in running a pilot ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) project that addresses the issue of ‘sustainable growth’ by engaging SME owners and managers in facilitated workshop discussions on this important, yet highly contested topic. If the UK and other countries are to meet their carbon reduction obligations, it is clear that SMEs will need to make significant, and in some cases radical changes, not only in terms of their day-to-day operational practices but also in their longer-term trajectories. However, policymakers face substantial obstacles in communicating with this audience, including: the scale and diversity of the SME population, competing priorities, competitive pressures and resource constraints. This project combines published research on SMEs, their growth processes and environmental behaviours, with specialist expertise in SME engagement and climate change communication. Aim: The multi-partner collaboration is designed to co-create new knowledge on environmentally sustainable growth in SMEs. Its primary aim is to help SMEs and intermediaries gain a better understanding of sustainable growth and its implications for their businesses. The team designed and trialled an innovative approach engagement, based on facilitated workshop discussions, creating an initial evidence base that will be coupled with a set of practical recommendations. The project builds on the academic and external partners’ complementary research insights into SMEs, organisational growth, climate change communication, energy use and associated policy-making. By incorporating the expertise of the practical insights of practitioners and intermediary organisations, the project seeks to initiate a vigorous knowledge exchange about the conceptualisation and practical application of sustainable growth. Methodology: Prior to engaging with SMEs, the team conducted a review of the literature on sustainable growth, which informed the engagement phase of the project. We also conducted a small survey of SME owners and managers and engaged in an informal consultation with stakeholders that informed the design and contents of the pilot workshops. Two half-day workshops were organised with SME owner and manager participants, facilitated by the communications specialists, Climate Outreach, and drawing on previous engagement projects with hard to reach groups. The workshops provided a forum for participants to engage in grounded, ‘peer to peer’ discussion about sustainable growth, expressed in their own terms and drawing on their own values and narratives. Audio recording of the workshops provided the basis for a thematic analysis, which has been combined with the other sources to construct this working paper. Contribution: The project is generating new insights into SME perspectives on sustainable growth that are grounded in relevant theory and evidence, coupled with practical tools that will be of value to practitioners and policymakers. The project team has also developed audio-visual resources, which will be used to raise awareness and help to provide the foundations for future engagement activity. The aim of the next phase of the project is to further refine this approach to engagement in the form of a more fully developed ‘toolkit’ and associated resources

Ministers appoint special advisers for their policy expertise as much as for their partisan views

Special Advisers are a now a fixture of British government, with “SpAds” patrolling the political space in between Ministers and the Civil Service, offering the kind of policy and political advice which “Sir Humphreys” don’t feel inclined or able to offer. Drawing on research from New Zealand, Richard Shaw and Chris Eichbaum show that little research has been carried out into why Ministers opt to have Special Advisers, while arguing that it is as likely that SpAds are recruited for their specific policy expertise as they are for their partisan viewpoint and connections

Perceived environmental factors associated with obesity in Libyan men and women

Background: There is a lack of research pertaining to the links between built environment attributes and obesity in adults in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In the Libyan context, no previous studies have been conducted to investigate this relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine associations between perceived neighbourhood built environmental attributes and obesity among Libyan men and women. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was also assessed. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used for the population-based survey in Benghazi, Libya. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select Libyan adults from the Benghazi electoral register. The Physical Activity Neighbourhood Environment Scale (PANES) was used to measure participants’ perception of neighbourhood environmental factors. Using the Tanita BC-601 Segmental Body Composition Monitor and a portable stadiometer, anthropometric measurements were taken at a mutually agreeable place by qualified nurses. Results: Four hundred and one Libyan adults were recruited (78% response rate). Participants were aged 20–65 years, 63% were female, and all had lived in Benghazi for over 10 years. The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 42.4% and 32.9% respectively. A significant association was found between BMI and 6 neighbourhood environment attributes, specifically: street connectivity, unsafe environment and committing crimes at night, and neighbourhood aesthetics. For men only, these were: access to public transport, access to recreational facilities, and unsafe environment and committing crimes during the day. The attribute ‘residential density zones’ was only significant for women. Conclusions: The study suggests that Libyan people are at risk of living in neighbourhoods with unsupportive environmental features of physical activity, which are likely to promote obesity of both genders. The findings of this study could inform Libyan health policies about interventions in the obesogenic environments that might slow the obesity epidemic and contain the public health crisis. This study suggests that further research is needed, within the Libyan context, to explore the impact of the neighbourhood environment attributes on contributing to increased obesity

An investigation into a contactless photoplethysmographic mobile application to record heart rate post-exercise: Implications for field testing

to record post-exercise heart rate and estimate maximal aerobic capacity after the Queen’s College Step Test. It was hypothesised that the CPA may present a cost effective heart rate measurement tool for educators and practitioners with limited access to specialised laboratory equipment. Materials and Methods: seventeen participants (eleven males and six females, 28 ± 9 years, 75.5 ± 15.5 kg, 173.6 ± 9.8 cm) had their heart rate measured immediately after the 3-min test simultaneously using the CPA, a wireless heart rate monitor (HRM) and manually via palpation of the radial artery (MAN). Results: both the CPA and MAN measurements had high variance compared to the HRM (CV = 31 and 11% respectively, ES = 1.79 and 0.65 respectively), and there were no significant correlations between the methods. Maximal oxygen consumption was estimated 17% higher in CPA compared to HRM (p < 0.001). Conclusions: in conclusion it is recommended that field practitioners should exercise caution and assess the accuracy of new freely available technologies if they are to be used in practice

Validity of Freely Available Mobile Applications for Recording Resting Heart Rate

This study examined the accuracy of mobile applications that measure heart rate by comparing results to a Polar heart rate monitor. Volunteers had their heart rate measured via four different methods whilst being simultaneously recorded with the Polar monitor; 1) manual (MAN), 2) Tap the Pulse (TAP), 3) Cardiio (CAR), 4) What’s my Heart Rate (WMHR). There were no significant differences between any of the methods and Polar monitor (p ≥ 0.159), with WMHR having the strongest relationship (r2 = 0.918) followed by MAN (r2 = 0.851), CAR (r2 = 0.646) andTAP (r2 = 0.636) respectively