Brexit as constitutional "shock" and its threat to the devolution settlement: reform or bust

The devolution settlement was not designed to withstand such a major shock as Brexit and, furthermore, Brexit has demonstrated key weaknesses in the devolution design (an argument that is even more fundamental for Northern Ireland). This would point to a logical conclusion: to rectify these problems either the devolution design needs to be fundamentally redrawn post- Brexit allowing a distinct Scottish voice to be heard and given force or independence as a solution

Brexit and Scots Law:Policing and Criminal Justice

No abstract available

Surveillance: Are We Being Watched, Who By, And Does It Matter? A Study To Capture An Individual’s Digital Footprint Over A 24-Hour Period

We are living in exponential times: technology is ubiquitous, the boundaries of on-line off-line are becoming undistinguishable, and geographical distances no longer constrict our activities. What will be, and what are, the consequences of existing in a technologically saturated environment? From the moment of conception, the data trail begins, our personas recorded on databases, social networking sites and CCTV as we go about our everyday lives. What impact does such amassment of data have on society, communities and personal identities within the UK? The reality is that the personal totality of exposure to technology development is a significant research challenge to quantify. There is a critical need to capture these activities in some sort of holistic and interconnected manner. This research will provide an ethnographic snapshot of individual exposure to database and surveillance technologies over a 24-hour period, in the process establishing a repeatable methodology to enable quantification of an individual’s 21st century digital footprint

Tensions between EU and UK Law are having a negative effect on the free movement of EU citizens

European law guarantees the free movement of citizens across EU member states. Using the UK as a case study, Jo Shaw, Nina Miller Westoby and Maria Fletcher write that in practice there nevertheless remain a number of difficulties in ensuring that EU citizens can exercise their rights. These include inconsistencies between European and national law, and cultural obstacles. To overcome these difficulties they propose the creation of an EU ‘citizenship champion’ to promote the effective implementation of a common citizenship area across Europe

Comics and human rights: an interview with the Gotham Academy team.

Maria Werdine Norris is a final year PhD candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research is on the British Counterterrorism strategy and legislation, with a focus on nationalism, security and human rights. You can find her on Twitter as @MariaWNorris Gotham Academy is a comic book set in a prestigious boarding school in the City of Gotham. It features a young cast headed by Olive Silverlock and Mia ‘Maps’ Mizoguchi. Gotham Academy and its diverse cast are beloved by fans and critics alike, showcasing that comic books need not look a certain way. It is published by DC Comics and written by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher, with art by Karl Kersch

Resolution Enhancement of MODIS-Derived Water Indices for Studying Persistent Flooding

Monitoring coastal marshes for persistent flooding and salinity stress is a high priority issue in Louisiana. Remote sensing can identify environmental variables that can be indicators of marsh habitat conditions, and offer timely and relatively accurate information for aiding wetland vegetation management. Monitoring activity accuracy is often limited by mixed pixels which occur when areas represented by the pixel encompasses more than one cover type. Mixtures of marsh grasses and open water in 250m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data can impede flood area estimation. Flood mapping of such mixtures requires finer spatial resolution data to better represent the cover type composition within 250m MODIS pixel. Fusion of MODIS and Landsat can improve both spectral and temporal resolution of time series products to resolve rapid changes from forcing mechanisms like hurricane winds and storm surge. For this study, using a method for estimating sub-pixel values from a MODIS time series of a Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), using temporal weighting, was implemented to map persistent flooding in Louisiana coastal marshes. Ordinarily NDWI computed from daily 250m MODIS pixels represents a mixture of fragmented marshes and water. Here, sub-pixel NDWI values were derived for MODIS data using Landsat 30-m data. Each MODIS pixel was disaggregated into a mixture of the eight cover types according to the classified image pixels falling inside the MODIS pixel. The Landsat pixel means for each cover type inside a MODIS pixel were computed for the Landsat data preceding the MODIS image in time and for the Landsat data succeeding the MODIS image. The Landsat data were then weighted exponentially according to closeness in date to the MODIS data. The reconstructed MODIS data were produced by summing the product of fractional cover type with estimated NDWI values within each cover type. A new daily time series was produced using both the reconstructed 250-m MODIS, with enhanced features, and the approximated daily 30-m high-resolution image based on Landsat data. The algorithm was developed and tested over the Calcasieu-Sabine Basin, which was heavily inundated by storm surge from Hurricane Ike to study the extent and duration of flooding following the storm. Time series for 2000-2009, covering flooding events by Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008, were derived. High resolution images were formed for all days in 2008 between the first cloud free Landsat scene and the last cloud-free Landsat scene. To refine and validate flooding maps, each time series was compared to Louisiana Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) station water levels adjusted to marsh to optimize thresholds for MODIS-derived time series of NDWI. Seasonal fluctuations were adjusted by subtracting ten year average NDWI for marshes, excluding the hurricane events. Results from different NDWI indices and a combination of indices were compared. Flooding persistence that was mapped with higher-resolution data showed some improvement over the original MODIS time series estimates. The advantage of this novel technique is that improved mapping of extent and duration of inundation can be provided

Impact of the Pupino decision on EU Law

No abstract available

Digital Maturity and SMEs: evaluating the application of a digital maturity assessment tool

The challenges of undertaking digital transformation within Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are multiple. The constraints of limited resources and a lack of clear strategic purpose for the transformation are readily evident across many existing case studies. Underlying these evidenced challenges is the persistent issue of the digital maturity of an overall organisation and its people individually as key factors in the success or failure of these change projects. We examine the use of a digital maturity assessment tool within an established membership-based SME to understand these many challenges and the way they are revealed through tools of this kind. We utilise a reflective approach based on direct organisational observations to consider the veracity and value of these assessment tools in supporting the drive for positive organisational change. Our conclusions are loosely critical of the generalised nature of these tools but support their intended purpose through the benefits that they generate through a Hawthorne Effect

'It starts with conversations': Civic Engagement in the College of Social Sciences

This report explores understandings and forms of civic engagement in the College of Social Sciences (CoSS), part of the University of Glasgow. It is based on a series of workshops run in the spring and summer of 2020 with colleagues in every School of CoSS. After discussing the wider context of the project, in the University’s development of a ‘civic university’ strategy (which in turn builds on a particular construction of this concept in the UK), the report shares key findings and perspectives on: the meaning of civic engagement to staff and students; examples of practices; the role of place in the notion of ‘civic’; the distinctive contribution of social sciences; motivations and barriers to do engagement work; and how the COVID-19 pandemic might affect or shape engagement for better or worse. The report concludes with recommendations for developing an engagement agenda. Reflecting widespread views, these aim to address concerns about structural inequalities both within the university itself as we as in the communities where engagement work is focused