scholarly journals Language Legislation and Policy in the uk and Ireland: Different Aspects of Territoriality in a ‘Celtic’ Context

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Dunbar

In spite of the long-term dominance in Britain and Ireland of English, other indigenous languages continue to be spoken, and in relatively recent years several of those languages have benefited not only from a more coherent and supportive language policy but also from significant language legislation. One of the interesting features of these other indigenous languages is that, although strongly associated with rural ‘heartlands’ in the particular jurisdictions with which they are associated, they are also spoken in other parts of those jurisdictions, and, indeed, in other parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. In this article, the ways in which the concept of territoriality has impacted upon legislation and on broader policy for two of these languages, Irish and Scottish Gaelic, will be considered.

Author(s):  
Thomas Klammer ◽  
Neil Wilner ◽  
Jan Smolarski

Capital expenditures can be crucial to firms long-term success, especially in a complex global environment. As companies increasingly compete in the global market place, it is important to study project evaluation processes from an international perspective. Capital investments involve substantial monetary commitments and risks that affect long-term firm profitability and influence capital allocation decisions in the future. Survey research in the area of capital expenditure analysis has been extensively done in both the United States [US] and the United Kingdom [UK]. This research is the first comparative survey of practices in both countries that we are aware of. A direct comparison of the use of project evaluation, management science, and risk management techniques in the two countries is made. The survey instrument used is an adaptation of the Klammer [1970] instrument that has been used repeatedly in surveys of American firms. This is the first time that it has been applied to British firms. The use of a common instrument allows for more meaningful comparisons. The samples consisted of 127 American and 59 British firms with sales of at least $100 million and capital expenditures of at least $10 million. Preliminary results indicate a continued extensive use of discounted cash flow techniques by US firms. Techniques such as payback or urgency continue to be used, but to a lesser degree than discounting. Firms in the UK also make extensive use of discounting but do so to a lesser degree than their American counterparts. Payback is widely used in the UK. Risk management techniques are widely used in both countries, with sensitivity analysis being the most popular technique in both countries. Extensive use of technical and administrative procedures, such as detailed budgets, standardized forms and post-audits, are evidenced in both countries. The paper offers reasons that have to do with organizational structure and form, as well as market differences, to explain our results.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Ellwardt ◽  
Patrick Praeg

Aim. The COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation measures by governments have upended the economic and social lives of many, leading to widespread psychological distress. However, how distress developed during the pandemic and who was most affected is poorly understood. We explore heterogeneity in trajectories of psychological distress during the first six months of the pandemic in the United Kingdom and relate this heterogeneity to socio-demographic and health factors. Subjects and Methods. We analyze six waves of longitudinal, nationally representative survey data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (N = 15,218), covering the first lockdown in 2020. First, latent class mixture modelling (LCCM) is used to identify trajectories of psychological distress. Second, associations of the trajectories with covariates are tested with multinomial logistic regressions. Results. We find four different trajectories of distress: continuously low, continuously moderate, temporarily elevated, and continuously elevated distress. One-fifth of the population experienced severely elevated risks of distress. Long-term exposure was highest among younger people, women, those who lost income, and those with previous health conditions or COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusion. Given the threat of persistent stress on health, policy measures should be sensitized to the unintended yet far-reaching consequences of non-pharmaceutical interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 855 (1) ◽  
pp. 012015
Author(s):  
B Dams ◽  
D Maskell ◽  
A Shea ◽  
S Allen ◽  
V Cascione ◽  
...  

Abstract Non-residential circular construction projects using bio-based materials have been realised in the United Kingdom. Case studies include the Adnams Distribution Centre, the University of East Anglia’s Enterprise Centre and the British Science Museum’s hempcrete storage facility. The bio-based buildings utilise the natural properties of bio-based materials to insulate and regulate internal environments, particularly with reducing fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity, which can be harmful to sensitive stored products and artefacts. Projects have been successful on both on environmental and physical performance levels; however, they have not led to a subsequent proliferation of non-residential large-scale circular projects within the UK using emerging bio-based materials. This study examines why and uses analysis based upon exclusive interviews with key figures associated with bio-based case studies. Challenges faced include the ability to upscale production by manufacturers of bio-based materials, problems surrounding initial costs, gaining accreditation for materials, the vested interests present in the construction industry and levels of knowledge among clients and construction professionals. Potential upscaling solutions identified include long-term financial savings on running costs and high staff productivity, policies regarding grants, incentives and planning applications and local economic regeneration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachma Puspitasari ◽  
Raldi Koestoer

The ocean is a source of mega-biodiversity that is supposed to perform optimally for current and future generations. The health of the ocean must be evaluated by measuring heavy metals in sediment because they can be accumulated and stored in long term. This metal can be released and absorbed by an organism, and affect the ecological risk and human health. The purpose of this article is to share viewpoints and those in a comparative study in terms of the metal database of both countries, the UK and Indonesia. The methodology used in this paper is critical review and analysis to compare a success story about compiling metal data into a national database in the United Kingdom (UK). Indonesia already has an open public access database issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The further step is to strengthen collaboration between research institutes, universities, and government to assign a Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) to collect, analyze and report the data to a national depository. This database will be worthwhile to describe the pollution status in Indonesia and basic data for best practice decisions. 


Author(s):  
David Horsley ◽  
Bruce McKirdy

Nirex is the organisation responsible for long-term radioactive waste management in the UK. Our Mission is to provide the UK with safe, environmentally sound and publicly acceptable options for the long-term management of radioactive materials. The United Kingdom has a significant legacy of long-lived intermediate level radioactive waste. This has arisen from 50 years of investigation and exploitation of nuclear technology. Some of the waste is stored in old facilities that do not provide the standards of containment that would be incorporated in modern facilities. Also the risk to people and to the environment from the inventory in these facilities will increase with time as the structures age and degrade, increasing the chance of containment failure. There is, therefore, a need to retrieve this raw waste and process and package it to make it demonstrably safe for continued storage, pending a decision on disposal of radioactive waste. This packaging should, as far as is practicable, be compatible with the UK long-term waste management strategy. Nirex has developed its Phased Disposal Concept for intermediate and low-level radioactive waste. Based on that concept, Nirex has developed waste package specifications and carries out assessments of waste packaging proposals. For legacy wastes it may not always practicable to demonstrate full compliance with all Nirex disposal criteria. This paper describes an approach, agreed between Nirex and BNFL, for managing these wastes. The proposed approach takes account of long-term waste management issues whilst recognising the need for timely improvement of storage conditions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (46) ◽  
Author(s):  
L J Brant ◽  
C Cawley ◽  
K L Davison ◽  
G P Taylor ◽  
collective the HTLV National Register Steering Group

Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection is rare in the United Kingdom (UK) and few studies are available worldwide. Following introduction of blood donation testing in 2002, a cohort of individuals could be identified and prospectively recruited to describe progression and onset of disease. Here we describe baseline characteristics of participants, and evaluate recruitment into the UK HTLV National Register over the first six years, from July 2003 to June 2009. A multicentre cohort study recruited participants from the UK blood services (recipients and donors) and specialist HTLV clinics. Almost half of the 148 participants recruited were blood donors, nine were blood transfusion recipients, 40 contacts and 29 clinic attendees (nine asymptomatic and 20 symptomatic). Most participants were HTLV-1 positive (n=115); 11 had HTLV-2 and 22 were HTLV-negative. Baseline self-completion questionnaires were received for 83%. The most commonly reported condition was a past operation/serious illness (69%). Twenty-six participants reported four or more possible signs/symptoms of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. Recruitment into a study of a rare, long-term infection is challenging. This cohort will enable descriptions of HTLV-associated disease progression amongst people recruited from varying sources; it is the first prospective study of its kind in Europe.


Author(s):  
Gerard M Walls ◽  
Orla A Houlihan ◽  
Ciaran Mooney ◽  
Rebecca Prince ◽  
Katie Spencer ◽  
...  

Objectives: Radiotherapy is a key cancer treatment modality but is poorly understood by doctors. We sought to evaluate radiation oncology (RO) teaching in medical schools within the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (RoI), as well as any impacts on RO teaching delivery from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A bespoke online survey instrument was developed, piloted and distributed to oncology teaching leads at all UK and RoI medical schools. Questions were designed to capture information on the structure, format, content and faculty for RO teaching, as well as both the actual and the predicted short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19. Results: Responses were received from 29/41 (71%) UK and 5/6 (83%) RoI medical schools. Pre-clinical and clinical oncology teaching was delivered over a median of 2 weeks (IQR 1–6), although only 9 (27%) of 34 responding medical schools had a standalone RO module. RO teaching was most commonly delivered in clinics or wards (n = 26 and 25 respectively). Few medical schools provided teaching on the biological basis for radiotherapy (n = 11) or the RO career pathway (n = 8), and few provide teaching delivered by non-medical RO multidisciplinary team members. There was evidence of short- and long-term disruption to RO teaching from COVID-19. Conclusions: RO teaching in the UK and RoI is limited with minimal coverage of relevant theoretical principles and little exposure to radiotherapy departments and their non-medical team members. The COVID-19 pandemic risks exacerbating trainee doctors’ already constrained exposure to radiotherapy. Advances in knowledge: This study provides the first analysis of radiotherapy-related teaching in the UK and RoI, and the first to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiationoncology teaching.


Significance This case adds to a growing list of incidents, including the abduction of five Hong Kong booksellers by mainland agents in 2015, that feed fears in Hong Kong that Beijing is undermining the autonomy the city was promised when the UK government handed it over to China in 1997. Impacts The United Kingdom is unlikely to escalate disputes over Beijing's adherence to the handover treaty since doing so might backfire. Evidence of China interfering with business in Hong Kong would be far more economically damaging than targeted political repression. Even limited encroachments by Beijing will increase pessimism about the city's long-term future and make young people keener to emigrate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Ellwardt ◽  
Patrick Präg

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation measures by governments have upended the economic and social lives of many, leading to widespread psychological distress. We explore heterogeneity in trajectories of psychological distress during the pandemic in the United Kingdom and relate this heterogeneity to socio-demographic and health factors. We analyze nine waves of longitudinal, nationally representative survey data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study ($$N=15{,}914$$ N = 15 , 914 ), covering the period from early 2020 to mid-2021. First, latent class mixture modelling is used to identify trajectories of psychological distress. Second, associations of the trajectories with covariates are tested with multinomial logistic regressions. We find four different trajectories of distress: continuously low, temporarily elevated, repeatedly elevated, and continuously elevated distress. Nearly two fifths of the population experienced severely elevated risks of distress during the pandemic. Long-term distress was highest among younger people, women, people living without a partner, those who had no work or lost income, and those with previous health conditions or COVID-19 symptoms. Given the threat of persistent stress on health, policy measures should be sensitized to the unintended yet far-reaching consequences of non-pharmaceutical interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 75-78
Author(s):  
Sheerja Bali ◽  
Asha Rajeev

The United Kingdom is a sought-after destination to gain overseas experience and long-term employment for doctors trained in India. However, for many the path is unclear. This article aims to explain the various opportunities and the steps involved in securing a job in the National Health Service (NHS) for an Indian dermatologist. The steps to obtain the General Medical Council license to practice include demonstrating competency in English and passing the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board examinations. Once the doctor is eligible to practice, career options are working as Core Medical trainee, Staff grade and Associate Specialists and Specialty doctors (SAS) or a locum consultant. One can become a consultant in the UK without retraining in dermatology through Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration. In the NHS, a dermatologist typically works for 8 h a day on the weekdays. Time is allotted for professional development through the Continuing Professional Development sessions. Doctors earn well in the UK although the cost of living is high.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document