Access to exercise for people with visual impairments during the Coronavirus-19 pandemic

People with blindness and visual impairments have reduced access to exercise compared to the general population during typical societal functioning. The Coronavirus-19 pandemic completely disrupted daily life for most individuals worldwide, and in the United Kingdom, a stay-at-home order was enforced. One of the sole reasons an individual could leave their home was for the purpose of daily exercise. Here, we examined how the UK national lockdown impacted access to exercise for people with blindness and visual impairment. We used a mixed methods design, collecting quantitative data from two established measures (the Exercise Barriers and Benefits Scale and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and qualitative data from open-ended questions. We found that, during the initial stages of the lockdown, perceived barriers to exercise increased compared to pre-pandemic levels, driven by factors, such as the closure of exercise facilities and additional difficulties posed by social distancing. Interestingly, during the later stages of the UK Coronavirus-19 response, perceived barriers decreased to lower than pre-pandemic levels. Thematic analysis indicated that this may have been due to participants finding new online methods to exercise at home, in combination with the tentative reopening of facilities.

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Perceptions of ‘Home Cooking’: A Qualitative Analysis from the United Kingdom and United States

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12010198 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 198 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Susanna D.H. Mills ◽

Julia A. Wolfson ◽

Wendy L. Wrieden ◽

Heather Brown ◽

Martin White ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Secondary Analysis ◽

Social And Emotional ◽

North East ◽

The North ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Health Initiatives ◽

Home Cooking ◽

Specific Concept ◽

The Uk ◽

At Home

Cooking at home is likely to be associated with benefits to diet and health. However, the nuanced perceptions and practices linked to different types of cooking are not yet fully understood. This research aimed to explore the specific concept of ‘home cooking’, using qualitative research from the UK and US. Data from two previously completed studies exploring cooking at home were combined and a new secondary analysis was undertaken using the Framework Method. Data in the first study were drawn from participants in the North East of the UK who were interviewed. Data in the second study were drawn from participants in Baltimore, US, who took part in focus groups. Data from a total of 71 adults (18 UK and 53 US), with diverse sociodemographic characteristics and experiences of cooking, were analysed. In both countries, participants distinguished ‘home cooking’ as a distinct subtype of cooking at home. ‘Home cooking’ was defined in terms of preparing a meal from scratch, cooking with love and care, and nostalgia. Cooking at home had a range of dimensions, and perceptions of ‘home cooking’ tended to focus on social and emotional associations. In future, public health initiatives might, therefore, highlight the potential social and emotional benefits of ‘home cooking’, rather than emphasising implications for physical health.

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Households, bubbles and hugging grandparents: Caring and lockdown rules during COVID-19

Feminist Legal Studies ◽

10.1007/s10691-020-09445-z ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 329-339

Author(s):

Jackie Gulland

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Human Life ◽

Living Conditions ◽

Feminist Scholarship ◽

Social Distancing ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

The Uk ◽

At Home

AbstractEfforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis brought mountains of legislation and guidance to coerce or encourage people to stay at home and reduce the spread of the virus. During peak lockdown in the United Kingdom (UK) regulations defined when people could or could not leave their homes. Meanwhile guidance on social distancing advised people to stay within ‘households’. This paper explores the legislation under lockdowns in the UK from March to October 2020 and the implications for women’s gendered caring roles. The regulations and guidance assumed that households were separate units and ignored the interdependencies which exist between households and between individuals and wider society. The continuing focus in the lockdown regulations has been on households as autonomous, safe, adequate and secure. This overlooks the interdependency of human life, gendered aspects of caring and the inequalities of housing and living conditions, highlighted by feminist scholarship.

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Public Diplomacy at Home in the UK: Engaging Diasporas and Preventing Terrorism

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy ◽

10.1163/1871191x-12341238 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 369-394 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Steven Curtis ◽

Caroline Jaine

Keyword(s):

Public Diplomacy ◽

International Travel ◽

Faith Based ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Islamist Terrorism ◽

Muslim Communities ◽

The Uk ◽

Foreign Ministry ◽

At Home

Summary Not every foreign ministry communicates with its home audience. For some it is unconstitutional; for many it serves no purpose. But for multicultural and particularly former colonial powers, communicating with the home audience has the potential to be a vital tool for engagement, especially as the boundaries between domestic and international are blurred by international travel, migration and global connectivity. This article examines ‘public diplomacy at home’ in the United Kingdom, both as a general policy of the last Labour government and more specifically in the context of initiatives to tackle Islamist terrorism. In terms of the latter, it explores the strengths and limitations of both faith-based approaches to outreach to Muslim communities and a country-based approach to outreach, using Pakistan as a case study.

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You win some, you lose some: Comprehension and event-related potential evidence for L1 attrition

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728919000737 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 869-883 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David Miller ◽

Jason Rothman

Keyword(s):

First Language ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Linguistic Knowledge ◽

English Speakers ◽

Online Data ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

L1 Attrition ◽

The Uk ◽

Online Methods ◽

Over Time

AbstractWe examine first language (L1) attrition among 30 L1 Spanish – L2 English speakers living in the United Kingdom. We also tested 30 recently-arrived Spaniards to the UK as a baseline. We present several key findings: 1) attrition fluctuates over time and does not affect all individuals equally; 2) entropy can explain said fluctuation of attritional affects over time such that while length of residence and age of arrival may affect the depth of attrition, how often one is exposed to her native language, how often she uses it and for how long each day, who her friends are, and to which types of input she is regularly exposed, seemingly aid in the maintenance or loss of linguistic knowledge; 3) though offline scalar interpretations among bilinguals were predicted by canonical sociolinguistic variables, the online data revealed an overall insensitivity to pragmatic violations. Thus, offline and online methods combine to be more explanatory regarding the comprehension and processing of implicature generating quantifiers.

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Changes in mortality patterns and place of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: A descriptive analysis of mortality data across four nations

Palliative Medicine ◽

10.1177/02692163211040981 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026921632110409

Author(s):

Sean B O’Donnell ◽

Anna E Bone ◽

Anne M Finucane ◽

Jenny McAleese ◽

Irene J Higginson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Northern Ireland ◽

Death Certificate ◽

Historical Data ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Community Services ◽

Place Of Death ◽

Mortality Data ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

The Uk ◽

At Home

Background: Understanding patterns of mortality and place of death during the COVID-19 pandemic is important to help provide appropriate services and resources. Aims: To analyse patterns of mortality including place of death in the United Kingdom (UK) (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) during the COVID-19 pandemic to date. Design: Descriptive analysis of UK mortality data between March 2020 and March 2021. Weekly number of deaths was described by place of death, using the following definitions: (1) expected deaths: average expected deaths estimated using historical data (2015–19); (2) COVID-19 deaths: where COVID-19 is mentioned on the death certificate; (3) additional non-COVID-19 deaths: above expected but not attributed to COVID-19; (4) baseline deaths: up to and including expected deaths but excluding COVID-19 deaths. Results: During the analysis period, 798,643 deaths were registered in the UK, of which 147,282 were COVID-19 deaths and 17,672 were additional non-COVID-19 deaths. While numbers of people who died in care homes and hospitals increased above expected only during the pandemic waves, the numbers of people who died at home remained above expected both during and between the pandemic waves, with an overall increase of 41%. Conclusions: Where people died changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an increase in deaths at home during and between pandemic waves. This has implications for planning and organisation of palliative care and community services. The extent to which these changes will persist longer term remains unclear. Further research could investigate whether this is reflected in other countries with high COVID-19 mortality.

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Estimate of deaths attributable to passive smoking among UK adults: database analysis

BMJ ◽

10.1136/bmj.38370.496632.8f ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 330 (7495) ◽

pp. 812 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Konrad Jamrozik

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

General Population ◽

Passive Smoking ◽

Hospitality Industry ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Database Analysis ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Working Day ◽

The Uk ◽

At Home

AbstractObjective To estimate deaths from passive smoking in employees of the hospitality industry as well as in the general workforce and general population of the United Kingdom.Design Calculation, using the formula for population attributable proportion, of deaths likely to have been caused by passive smoking at home and at work in the UK according to occupation. Sensitivity analyses to examine impact of varying assumptions regarding prevalence and risks of exposure.Setting National UK databases of causes of death, employment, structure of households, and prevalences of active and passive smoking.Main outcome measures Estimates of deaths due to passive smoking according to age group (< 65 or ≥ 65) and site of exposure (domestic or workplace).Results Across the United Kingdom as a whole, passive smoking at work is likely to be responsible for the deaths of more than two employed people per working day (617 deaths per year), including 54 deaths in the hospitality industry each year. Each year passive smoking at home might account for another 2700 deaths in persons aged 20-64 years and 8000 deaths among people aged ≥ 65.Conclusion Exposure at work might contribute up to one fifth of all deaths from passive smoking in the general population aged 20-64 years, and up to half of such deaths among employees of the hospitality industry. Adoption of smoke free policies in all workplaces and reductions in the general prevalence of active smoking would lead to substantial reductions in these avoidable deaths.

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İngiltere’den Türkiye’ye ‘Düzensiz’ Göçmen Dövizi Gönderme Davranışının Nedenleri Üzerine Nitel Bir İnceleme

GÖÇ DERGİSİ ◽

10.33182/gd.v6i2.665 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 173-190

Author(s):

Fethiye Tilbe

Keyword(s):

Cultural Values ◽

Host Country ◽

Regulatory Framework ◽

Face To Face ◽

Migrant Communities ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Main Determinants ◽

Money Transfers ◽

The Uk ◽

Migrant Groups

Bu makale, göçmen dövizi akımlarında “düzensizlik” olarak ifade ettiğimiz, Türkiye’ye resmi kanallar dışında gönderilen enformel göçmen dövizlerini, Birleşik Krallık’ta (özellikle Londra’da) yaşayan Türkiye kökenli göçmenler açısından incelemektedir. Her göçmen grubu, gerek ev sahibi ülkedeki düzenleyici çerçeve ve sosyo-ekonomik koşullar, gerek göçmen topluluğunun sosyo-kültürel değerleri tarafından belirlenen biçimde, farklı göçmen dövizi transfer biçimlerine eğilim sergilemektedir. Dolayısıyla farklı ülkelerdeki aynı kökenden göçmen toplulukları, ev sahibi ülkedeki dinamikler nedeniyle göçmen dövizlerinin formel ya da enformel (düzenli ya da düzensiz) gönderiminde farklılaşabilirken, aynı ülkedeki farklı ülke kökenli göçmen grupları da pek çok örüntünün etkisiyle farklı eğilim gösterebilmektedir. Nitel araştırma tasarımı kapsamında 27 göçmen ve 7 anahtar statüdeki katılımcıyla gerçekleştirilen yüz yüze görüşmelere dayalı olan bu çalışma, Birleşik Krallık’tan Türkiye’ye göçmen dövizi gönderimindeki düzensizlik olgusunu, her iki ülkenin sosyal, ekonomik ve kültürel dinamikleriyle ilişkilendirerek incelemeyi ve nedenlerini ortaya çıkarmayı amaç edinmektedir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, göçmenlik statüsü, gönderilen para miktar ve sıklığı ile geleneksel ilişki ağlarına olan güvenin yanında, Birleşik Krallık’taki sosyal yardım ve çalışma biçimine ilişkinin düzenleyici çerçevenin ve göçmenlerin sosyo-ekonomik durumlarının Türkiye’ye enformel göçmen dövizi gönderiminde temel belirleyici olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.ABSTRACT IN ENGLISHA Qualitative Examination of Determinants of Remittances Sending Behaviour Among Immigrants from Turkey in the UKThis article examines the causes of irregularity in remittances flows from the United Kingdom (UK) to Turkey, from the perspective of migrants from Turkey living in the UK. Each group of migrants prefers different types of remittance sending methods, as determined by the regulatory framework and socio-economic conditions in the host country and the socio-cultural values of the migrant community. Therefore, migrant communities of the same origin in different countries may differ in using formal or informal sending methods of remittances due to the dynamics in the host country. Similarly, migrant groups of different nationalities in the same country may show different tendencies due to the influence of many patterns. Similarly, migrant groups of different nationalities in the same country may show different tendencies due to the influence of many patterns. This study aims to examine the phenomenon of irregularities in sending remittances by associating with the social, economic and cultural dynamics of both countries. For this purpose, face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 immigrants and 7 key status participants by using qualitative research method. The obtained results reveal that the regulatory framework relating to social assistance and labour market in the UK, immigration status, the frequency and the amount of money sent and confidence in traditional relationship networks is the main determinants of informal money transfers to Turkey.

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TBE in United Kingdom

Tick-borne encephalitis - The Book ◽

10.33442/26613980_12b35-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Clinical Disease ◽

England And Wales ◽

Probable Case ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

South West ◽

Louping Ill ◽

The Uk ◽

North And South ◽

South West England

Until 2019, TBE was considered only to be an imported disease to the United Kingdom. In that year, evidence became available that the TBEV is likely circulating in the country1,2 and a first “probable case” of TBE originating in the UK was reported.3 In addition to TBEV, louping ill virus (LIV), a member of the TBEV-serocomplex, is also endemic in parts of the UK. Reports of clinical disease caused by LIV in livestock are mainly from Scotland, parts of North and South West England and Wales.4

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Science, Politics, and the Pandemic

Current History ◽

10.1525/curh.2020.119.820.303 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 119 (820) ◽

pp. 303-309

Author(s):

J. Nicholas Ziegler

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Biomedical Research ◽

Scale Up ◽

Political Leadership ◽

The United States ◽

Scientific Advice ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Effective Policy ◽

Scientific Expertise ◽

The Uk

Comparing the virus responses in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States shows that in order for scientific expertise to result in effective policy, rational political leadership is required. Each of these three countries is known for advanced biomedical research, yet their experiences in the COVID-19 pandemic diverged widely. Germany’s political leadership carefully followed scientific advice and organized public–private partnerships to scale up testing, resulting in relatively low infection levels. The UK and US political responses were far more erratic and less informed by scientific advice—and proved much less effective.

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