Barriers to entry: social exclusion is rife in elite professions in the UK

Research by Louise Ashley, Hilary Sommerlad and Jo Duberley highlights the structural nature of social exclusion and its connections to unequal access to educational opportunities

Losing the faith: public sector work and the erosion of career calling

This article tells the story of Dave, a welfare rights advisor who worked his way up to be Assistant Director of Social Services in a Midlands local authority. Dave joined the public sector with a sense of calling and a belief that local government could create positive social change. Over the next 25 years, however, Dave’s calling was increasingly challenged as his job and the context in which he worked were transformed. This article focuses on the ways in which Dave navigated the system in an attempt to ‘keep the faith’, before eventually taking early retirement

Neurometabolic Implications of Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency: Pathogenesis, Detection and Treatment

Disorders of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) biosynthesis represent the most treatable subgroup of mitochondrial diseases. Neurological involvement is frequently observed in CoQ10 deficiency, typically presenting as cerebellar ataxia and/or seizures. The aetiology of the neurological presentation of CoQ10 deficiency has yet to be fully elucidated and therefore in order to investigate these phenomena we have established a neuronal cell model of CoQ10 deficiency by treatment of the neuronal SH-SY5Y cell line with Para-AminoBenzoic Acid (PABA). This neuronal cell model provides insights into the effects of CoQ10 deficiency on neuronal mitochondrial function and oxidative stress. A marginal decrease in CoQ10 status (76% residual CoQ10) appears to be sufficient to impair Electron Transport Chain (ETC) function and increase mitochondrial oxidative stress, highlighting the vulnerability of neurons to a small deficit in CoQ10 status. In contrast to CoQ10 deficient fibroblasts, a CoQ10 deficiency (46% residual CoQ10) in neuronal cells appears to result in reversal of Complex V activity. This phenomenon has not been reported in previous studies of CoQ10 deficiency and may be a unique characteristic of neuronal cells. This neuronal cell model was subsequently utilised in the evaluation of candidate therapies for neurological conditions associated with CoQ10 deficiency. The efficacy of CoQ10 supplementation and methylene blue (MB) treatment were evaluated. CoQ10 supplementation proved effective at preventing mitochondrial oxidative stress and partially restoring neuronal mitochondrial function. However ETC complex activities were still compromised, suggesting an explanation for the refractory nature of neurological CoQ10 deficiency to treatment. Muscle is considered the “gold standard” for CoQ10 quantification; however neurological CoQ10 deficiency does not always present with a significant decrease in muscle CoQ10 status, despite a genetic diagnosis of CoQ10 deficiency. Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) CoQ10 quantification offers a more direct measurement of cerebellar CoQ10 levels. A tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method capable of quantifying nanomolar (nM) levels of CoQ10 was therefore developed. In conclusion this PhD thesis has been successful in expanding our understanding of the pathophysiology of neuronal CoQ10 deficiency and subsequently suggesting why neurological CoQ10 deficiency might be refractory to CoQ10 treatment. This thesis has also led to the development of a new technique for quantification of CSF CoQ10 concentration, opening up many possibilities for future studies and applications. This project is funded by Ataxia UK (www.ataxiauk.org.uk)

A qualitative evaluation of non-educational barriers to the elite professions: June 2015

This report sets out the findings from a qualitative study, focusing on two main areas. The first (Study A) examines the barriers to entry for people from less privileged socioeconomic backgrounds to elite law and accountancy firms, with a particular focus on London. The second (Study B) examines the barriers to entry for people from similar backgrounds to elite financial service firms (inclu ding accountancy) located in Scotland

Examining the interplay of career, migration and national cultural identity: the case of Indian scientists

In this paper, we examine individuals' career migration across international borders. It is widely recognized that globalization has fundamental implications for the careers of people across geographical and cultural boundaries. However, our understanding of the interplay of migration, career development and national/cultural identities remains undeveloped within the extant literature. In this paper, we seek to offer insights into this relationship. Focusing on Indian scientists, an occupational group whose careers have long been associated with movement around the world, in this paper we examine these issues. Empirically, we examine three themes: why Indian scientists see international mobility as important in the development of their careers; continued links with India; and the interplay of national/cultural affiliation and respondents' career experiences. In light of our findings, in the discussion section we argue that considering Indian scientists as a career diaspora highlights three important features that in the main have received only limited attention in the extant literature: career as a social form and process; the notion of the scientific career as a cultural product; and the interrelationship of career and national/cultural affiliation as ongoing facets of individuals' identities as they develop diasporic careers. © 2012 The Authors. International Migration © 2009 IOM

Making Sense of Our Working Lives: The concept of the career imagination

In 2001 foot and mouth hit and obviously devastated the business completely. So it’s a honeypot village and literally it was as though somebody had put a gate against it. It was incredible. There were no cars, the kids were just riding bikes up and down the road, playing football. I don’t know if you remember but Blair said, ‘keep out of the country’ and they did! Sometimes it feels as though I’ve not been in charge of my own destiny to some degree. You know, you always seem to be overtaken by a series of events that lead you somewhere (Sylvia, hotel owner, Cohen, 2014)) Jill was all excited about the possibility of getting a modem that would enable her to work from home! Commenting on the modem story nearly twenty years later, Jill observed that ‘any firm is a technology firm now. It’s probably the biggest cultural shift of the last century’ (Cohen, 2014: 78, 79),The notion of vocational public service has become passé through ‘managerialising’ and ‘targetising’ the service. What’s gone is the notion of voluntary effort and endeavour that went alongside what you were being paid for. There would have been no welfare rights service created in the 1980s if the people setting it up had just turned up at 9 o’clock and left at 5 o’clock. It came to be because people actually lived the creation. That’s impossible to achieve in an environment which is all about targets set from on high, and action plans on Excel spreadsheets (Pete, welfare rights officer, Cohen, Duberley & Smith, 2019).These quotes, taken from our own research (Cohen, 2014; Cohen, Duberley & Smith, 2018) vividly highlight the ongoing evolution of our working lives and careers. As we write this essay, in Autumn 2020, this change feels more dramatic and closer than ever, fuelled not only by well-rehearsed, long-term social, economic and technological transformation (Grimshaw, 2020), but also by the shock of the Covid 19 crisis and impending Brexit. For some commentators such on-going change offers the potential to forge ‘boundaryless’ (Tams & Arthur, 2010) and entrepreneurial careers (Liguori, Winkler, Vanevenhoven and Winkel and James, 2020): as the Uber pitch to potential drivers goes, ‘no shifts, no boss, no limits’ (Kessler, 2018: 12). For others, though, the picture is far bleaker (Snyder, 2016), with increased insecurity and a lack of stable foundations from which to develop a work identity (Petriglieri, Ashford, & Wrzesniewski, 2019: 158) and make sense of effort as part of a meaningful, ongoing project of forging a meaningful career (Tweedie, 2013)

An?lisis de los contenidos de historia de la edad media en la aplicaci?n de los textos escolares para ense?ar la asignatura de ciencias sociales en los grados s?ptimo usadas en las instituciones educativas del municipio de Icononso en el a?o 2016

90 p. Recurso Electr?nicoEl presente proyecto de investigaci?n aborda el an?lisis de los recursos y contenidos asociados al aprendizaje de la edad media de los libros de texto de historia en la asignatura de ciencias sociales de los grados s?ptimos, en las instituciones educativas del municipio de Icononzo en el a?o 2016. La metodolog?a empleada para el manejo de dicha informaci?n es el an?lisis de contenidos, aplicada sobre los libros escolares y materiales digitales adjuntos, suministrados por las instituciones y editoriales comerciales (Santillana, norma, voluntad, Etc.). Para esto se emplear? un enfoque cuantitativo que permita reconocer la pertinencia de los materiales suministrados para la ense?anza en el ?mbito local, las expectativas y demandas de los docentes que imparten esta tem?tica, en la misma medida encontrar las similitudes o diferencias de los textos acad?micos ofertados en el mercado de los libros para ense?ar ciencias sociales en el grado 7? y la progresi?n de los libros a lo largo de los a?os, con el fin de determinar la coherencia de herramientas m?s democr?ticas en la formaci?n de los ni?os y ni?as de los grados s?ptimo en la instituci?n educativas del municipio Icononzo. Palabras clave: Icononzo, textos de historia, edad media, grado s?ptimo, an?lisis de contenidos.This research project deals with the analysis of resources and content associated with the learning of the middle ages (X to XV century). It is mainly aimed to history textbooks for the social sciences subject of seventh grade of the Icononzo municipality educative institutions in 2016. The methodology used to study the collected information is content analysis. The analysis was applied on school books and attached digital materials provided by commercial institutions and publishers (Santillana, Norma, Voluntad, among others). Furthermore, it was adopted a quantitative approach with the aim of recognizing the relevancuhe of materials provided for teaching at the local level, and the expectations and demands of teachers who impart this subject. In the same vein, it was pertinent to find the similarities or differences of academic texts books offered In the book market to teach social sciences in 7th grade, and the progression of those books over the years, in order to determine the coherence of more democratic tools in the training of children in seventh grade in the educational institution of the municipality of Icononzo. Keywords: Icononzo, history texts, middle ages, seventh grade, content analysis