Sport for Yes? The role of sporting issues in pro-independence political discourse during the Scottish independence referendum campaign

This article critically considers the extent to which sporting issues were harnessed by pro-independence political campaigners during the Scottish independence referendum campaign. Developments such as the inclusion of sport within the Scottish Government’s White Paper on Scottish independence, the establishment of the ‘Working Group on Scottish Sport’ and the establishment of the ‘Sport for Yes’ campaign group demonstrate the harnessing of sporting issues as an additional, if somewhat peripheral, debate point in the referendum campaigns (Lafferty 2014, Scottish Government 2013, Working Group on Scottish Sport and Scottish Government 2013, 2014). The latter of these developments, the establishment of the ‘Sport for Yes’ campaign group, is of particular interest, offering evidence of the explicit political mobilisation of past and present athletes in support of the ‘Yes Scotland’ pro-independence campaign. The use of sport within pro-independence political discourse is therefore scrutinised, drawing upon the principles of critical discourse analysis to explore the ideological assumptions underpinning the discursive representation of sport in relation to Scottish independence

Artificial drainage of peatlands: hydrological and hydrochemical process and wetland restoration

Peatlands have been subject to artificial drainage for centuries. This drainage has been in response to agricultural demand, forestry, horticultural and energy properties of peat and alleviation of flood risk. However, the are several environmental problems associated with drainage of peatlands. This paper describes the nature of these problems and examines the evidence for changes in hydrological and hydrochemical processes associated with these changes. Traditional black-box water balance approaches demonstrate little about wetland dynamics and therefore the science of catchment response to peat drainage is poorly understood. It is crucial that a more process-based approach be adopted within peatland ecosystems. The environmental problems associated with peat drainage have led, in part, to a recent reversal in attitudes to peatlands and we have seen a move towards wetland restoration. However, a detailed understanding of hydrological, hydrochemical and ecological process-interactions will be fundamental if we are to adequately restore degraded peatlands, preserve those that are still intact and understand the impacts of such management actions at the catchment scale

A critical assessment of the WHO responsiveness tool: lessons from voluntary HIV testing and counselling services in Kenya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health, fair financing and responsiveness to the user's needs and expectations are seen as the essential objectives of health systems. Efforts have been made to conceptualise and measure responsiveness as a basis for evaluating the non-health aspects of health systems performance. This study assesses the applicability of the responsiveness tool developed by WHO when applied in the context of voluntary HIV counselling and testing services (VCT) at a district level in Kenya.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A mixed method study was conducted employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods concurrently. The questionnaire proposed by WHO was administered to 328 VCT users and 36 VCT counsellors (health providers). In addition to the questionnaire, qualitative interviews were carried out among a total of 300 participants. Observational field notes were also written.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A majority of the health providers and users indicated that the responsiveness elements were very important, e.g. confidentiality and autonomy were regarded by most users and health providers as very important and were also reported as being highly observed in the VCT room. However, the qualitative findings revealed other important aspects related to confidentiality, autonomy and other responsiveness elements that were not captured by the WHO tool. Striking examples were inappropriate location of the VCT centre, limited information provided, language problems, and concern about the quality of counselling.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results indicate that the WHO developed responsiveness elements are relevant and important in measuring the performance of voluntary HIV counselling and testing. However, the tool needs substantial revision in order to capture other important dimensions or perspectives. The findings also confirm the importance of careful assessment and recognition of locally specific aspects when conducting comparative studies on responsiveness of HIV testing services.</p

Older age does not influence CD4 cell recovery in HIV-1 infected patients receiving Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of HIV infection is recently occurring with increasing frequency in middle-aged and in older individuals. As HAART became available, a minimal beneficial effect on immunological outcome in older in respect of younger subjects has been reported. In fact, both the intensity and the rapidity of the immunological response appeared to be reduced in elderly subjects. On the contrary, only few reports have indicated a similar immunological outcome both in older and younger HIV-positive subjects. Interestingly, older age did not seem to significantly affect the long-term virological outcome of HAART treated subjects. METHODS: To characterise epidemiological and clinical features of older HIV+ subjects, a prospective case-control study was performed: 120 subjects ≥ 50 and 476 between 20 and 35 years were initially compared. Subsequently, to better define the impact of HAART on their viro-immunological response, 81 older were compared with 162 younger subjects. RESULTS: At baseline cases presented significantly lower TCD4+ cell number and were more frequently affected by comorbid conditions. Under HAART a statistically significant increase in TCD4+ cell number was observed in cases and controls. At multivariate analysis, there was no statistically significant difference between cases and controls regarding viro-immunological response. CONCLUSIONS: Although older subjects present a more severe HIV infection, they can achieve, under HAART, the same viro-immunological success as the younger individuals

Making space for co-produced research ‘impact’: learning from a participatory action research case study

There is growing emphasis in the UK on promoting research that creates a positive impact on society. Research Councils UK, the major national research funding agencies, have recently defined a framework for promoting and measuring this impact. This paper contributes to current debates about this developing agenda and, particularly, the problematic intersection of the impact agenda and co-production research approaches. I argue that processes of negotiating values, aims and power relations are essential to creating relevant, ethical impacts with research participants. In contrast to the emphasis placed on linear and top-down change by the impact agenda, my experience doing participatory action research with a UK community group shows that co-produced research produces different kinds of impacts: co-produced impacts are emergent and non-linear; responsive and relational; and empowering when rooted in reciprocal collaboration with research partners. This paper questions the implicit values the impact framework imposes on academic researchers and community partners, calling for continued critical engagement with the impact agenda to encourage the value-rational reflection, deliberation and collaboration needed for creating socially transformative research

Internal Migration, Sport and the Scottish Diaspora in England.

Sport has been argued to play an important role for members of diasporic groups of various origins and in various locations (Burdsey, 2006; Carrington, 2010; Darby and Hassan, 2008; Kaufman, 2005). However, little attention has been paid to the role sport plays for ‘internal migrants’ who migrate to contrasting locations within a nation-state, despite the potential for significant contrasts in the prevailing sporting cultures found in different regions of the same nation-state. This article therefore aims to make a contribution towards understanding this relationship by reflecting upon the role sport plays for members of the Scottish diaspora living in England, drawing upon interviews and personal reflections from a number of Scottish ‘internal migrants’ located within the United Kingdom. In particular, discussion attempts to draw attention to the central role sport plays for these individuals in order to maintain a cultural attachment with their Scottish birthplace, given the relative lack of other cultural practices or associations which could be used to achieve this goal. Comparisons are also drawn with studies of the Scottish diaspora in more distant geographic contexts, as well as similar diasporic groups in the English context such as the Irish diaspora. These comparisons allow for a consideration of the impact of geographic proximity and cultural proximity on the relative importance of sport and other cultural practices for Scots living in England, identifying a number of important issues for those studying the role played by sport in the maintenance of a cultural attachment with ‘home’ for various diasporic groups

Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three available genomic nomenclature systems for SARS-CoV-2 to all sequence data from the WHO European Region available during the COVID-19 pandemic until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation. We provide a comparison of the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.Peer reviewe

Meat and Nicotinamide:A Causal Role in Human Evolution, History, and Demographics

Hunting for meat was a critical step in all animal and human evolution. A key brain-trophic element in meat is vitamin B 3 /nicotinamide. The supply of meat and nicotinamide steadily increased from the Cambrian origin of animal predators ratcheting ever larger brains. This culminated in the 3-million-year evolution of Homo sapiens and our overall demographic success. We view human evolution, recent history, and agricultural and demographic transitions in the light of meat and nicotinamide intake. A biochemical and immunological switch is highlighted that affects fertility in the ‘de novo’ tryptophan-to-kynurenine-nicotinamide ‘immune tolerance’ pathway. Longevity relates to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide consumer pathways. High meat intake correlates with moderate fertility, high intelligence, good health, and longevity with consequent population stability, whereas low meat/high cereal intake (short of starvation) correlates with high fertility, disease, and population booms and busts. Too high a meat intake and fertility falls below replacement levels. Reducing variances in meat consumption might help stabilise population growth and improve human capital